When Matt LeBato took over the reins of the Sulphur High School girls basketball program, he figured it would take time for the team to adjust to his style of coaching and vision for the program. That adjustment period turned out to be brief.

Tors are 13-1 and own an 11-game win streak. It is their best start since the 2013-2014 season, when the Tors lost in the quarterfinals. Sulphur is ranked seventh in the most recent Louisiana High School Athletic Association power ratings, but those have not been updated since shortly before Christmas.

“They’re just super positive,” LeBato said of his team. “What I love most about them, and I tell everybody this is, they’re just always trying to learn more about the game.

“They’re sponges. They want to soak up everything that I’m saying. I love how enthusiastic they are about the game and about life.”

The Tors’ game plan hinges on their defense, which allows 29.6 points a game. They have allowed more than 40 points twice and one was their lone loss, 47-38 to Iowa on Nov. 25.

“We are definitely a better defensive team than offensive team right now,” LeBato said. “We have probably nine
or 10 really good defensive players who are all aggressive, all aren’t afraid to stick their nose in there and do the dirty work.

“They all come from a country background. They’re all cowgirls and they all love just playing rough and playing hard and playing for each other. So it’s kind of just stick to our style of defense of just being tough. And these girls don’t back down for anything. I love it.”

The starting lineup features four underclassmen led by junior center Presley Gunter (11 ppg) and sophomore guard Ivy Broussard (10 ppg).

Other starters include senior power forward Alysa Martin, junior point guard Saige Martin and junior small forward Therese Martin. LeBato said he expects junior Ava Constance, an all-district guard last season, to be cleared to play next week after a preseason injury.

“Sage Martin’s a very good defender,” LeBato said. “Ivy Broussard’s a very good defender on the perimeter and Sienna Gunter’s a very good defender on the perimeter.

“And inside we got Presley Gunter, who blocks a lot of shots, along with Keira Martin, who rebounds very well. We have a good balance of quick, long guards who can get after it on the perimeter and also some girls that can rebound and block shots inside.”

Controlling the paint of both ends of the court is key for the Tors, he said.

“It’s kind of just really just trying to make the other team take tough shots outside the paint,” LeBato said. “It might change from game to game, but we know we want to control the paint on both ends.

“We try to touch the paint with either dribble drives or post entry with a pass. We try to get it early and often, and it’s been pretty successful. Now, just because we’re touching the paint doesn’t mean we’re scoring it, but it allows us to do a lot of different things once we get it there. We have a whole bunch of different options, and that gives us our best percentages is getting a paint touch.”

LeBato, who was an all-district and All-state player for the Tors from 2006 to 2010 and played collegiately a Baton Rouge Community College and Northwestern State, convinced his father, Clint LeBato, to come out of retirement. The elder LeBato led the Sulphur boys team for 24 seasons, winning 481 games.

“We’re playing a pretty similar style than we played back then, and a lot of the same stuff,” LeBato said. “But just having him around, and getting him in the gym, and letting the girls be around him, and him getting to experience just the gym life again, because he hasn’t really done much since he retired. It’s just been awesome.”