Louisiana girls basketball playoff brackets officially released

By Mike Coppage 

Photo of Walker team by Walker Lady Cats Hoops Twitter page 

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association released the girls basketball playoff brackets on Monday, as there will be 10 state champions crowned at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond next month.

This year, for the first time, there are 28 teams in each of the five non-select divisions and 24 in the five select divisions. The top four seeds across the five non-select divisions receive a first-round bye, and the top eight seeds in each select division receive a bye.

Playoff openers will begin as early as Tuesday with a first-round deadline of Thursday.

Non-Select Division I

Top 8 seeds (first four receive a first-round bye)

1. Walker (26-1)

2. Parkway (22-1)

3. Barbe (26-4)

4. Zachary (24-5)

5. Ponchatoula (22-8)

6. Denham Springs (24-3)

7. Natchitoches-Central (21-9)

8. Chalmette (19-4)

No. 11 East St. John (20-8) is a dark horse to reach the quarterfinals where the Wildcats would likely meet up with Barbe. East St. John, led by 5-foot-10 Louisiana-Lafayette signee Jasmine Matthews, has won its last 12 games and 15 of its last 16.

The Wildcats would have to get past No. 6 Denham Springs in the second round. Is Denham Springs ripe for an upset after a 75-27 loss to Walker last week? Denham Springs hosts No. 27 Slidell (14-14) in the first round.

The top half of the bracket is loaded with Walker, Zachary and reigning state champion Ponchatoula. Last year, the No. 4 Green Wave upset top-seeded Walker 69-59 in the Class 5A semifinals.

Upset Alert: No. 21 Southside at No. 12 Thibodaux.

The Sharks (16-13) are searching for their first playoff victory in school history. Southside went on an eight-game winning streak before beginning play in grueling District 3-5A, which includes Lafayette High, Barbe and Carencro. Thibodaux (19-10) lost four of its last six games, including a setback to a New Iberia team that Southside handled in its regular season finale.

Players to watch for Southside include: Karrington Eugene, Eymani Key, Tamia Cahee and Alleyah Kennedy. Eugene (5-10) and Kennedy (6-1) are adept at crashing the boards. When she's on, the 5-foot-8 Key can fill it up.

Select Division I

Top 8 seeds (each receives first-round bye)

1. John Curtis (18-2)

2. Lafayette (21-5)

3. St. Thomas More (22-5)

4. Scotlandville (20-8)

5. Ben Franklin (26-5)

6. Warren Easton (21-8)

7. Huntington (23-6)

8. Dominican (23-7)

Last year, No. 1 John Curtis thumped No. 3 McKinley, 67-47, in the championship game. Although No. 9 Liberty Magnet (17-9) and 6-foot-2 junior forward Whitney Hart must get past No. 24 Southwood in the first round, the Patriots are a solid pick to upset No. 8 Dominican to reach the quarterfinals and likely face John Curtis.

Liberty may not have a gaudy record, but the Patriots have faced a more challenging schedule than Dominican, which lost 76-37 to Curtis last month.

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The first thing that jumps out from this bracket is the possibility of two Lafayette-area teams meeting in the semifinals in No. 2 Lafayette High and No. 3 St. Thomas More. The Lions and Cougars tangled in December with Chrysta Narcisse, Grace Paul, Kira Johnson and company delivering a 64-27 win.

Warren Easton was runner-up to Ellender in Class 4A last year.

Non-select Division II

Top 8 seeds (first four receive a first round bye)

1. Wossman (26-2)

2. Albany (28-2)

3. Brusly (27-6)

4. South Beauregard (22-7)

5. LaGrange (23-8)

6. North Vermilion (19-8)

7. West Feliciana (22-5)

8. Bastrop (21-7)

It would be a shock if Wossman and Albany don't eventually meet up for all the hardware in the finals, as they are two of the top programs regardless of class.

Under the new LHSAA guidelines, Division II is composed of both Class 3A and Class 4A schools. In football, several Class 4A programs with low seeds pulled off substantial upsets of higher seeds in Class 3A.

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Three of the top four seeds - Wossman, Albany and South Beauregard - are in Class 3A. Last year, No. 2 Wossman upset No. 3 Albany before falling to No. 4 Madison Prep in the Class 3A finals.

Brusly, the No. 1 seed in that bracket, was ousted by Madison Prep in the semifinals. Brusly moved up to Class 4A this year.

LaGrange is also Class 4A. Madison Prep is now a select school.

Select Division II

Top 8 seeds (each receives first-round bye)

1. Lafayette Christian (25-1)

2. Vandebilt Catholic (19-2)

3. St. Louis Catholic (24-6)

4. Peabody Magnet (22-7)

5. Northside (15-10)

6. De La Salle (22-13)

7. Buckeye (21-9)

8. Archbishop Hannan (15-3)

Top-seeded St. Louis took down No. 3 St. Thomas More, 64-57, in last year's title game. STM bounced No. 2 Vandebilt Catholic in the semifinals, while St. Louis handled Ben Franklin in the other semifinal game.

The scary thing about this top-heavy bracket is that both Lafayette Christian and Vandebilt Catholic are both young.

In addition to Jada Richard, Dacia Jones and Eve Alexander, LCA has guards Indy Hebert and Taylen Taylor. The Knights moved up from Class 2A to Class 4A with no problem.

No. 22 Madison Prep (7-20), which is rebuilding after winning Class 3A, will seek to upset No. 11 Kenner Discovery (18-12).

Non-select Division III

Top 8 seeds (first four receive bye)

1. Rosepine (25-7)

2. Amite (23-4)

3. Springfield (20-8)

4. French Settlement (20-8)

5. Union Parish (19-5)

6. Sterlington (19-7)

7. Avoyelles (21-9)

8. West St. Mary (17-7)

Amite isn't the number one seed, but the Warriors may be the favorites. Amite moved up from Class 2A to Class 3A. Last year, top-seeded Amite beat No. 3 Rayville, 64-44, in the finals.

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West St. Mary went 12-0 in District 8-2A where the Wolfpack throttled every opponent by at least 35 points. French Settlement and Springfield are District 7-2A rivals. The two southeast Louisiana schools split the series in district, although Springfield won a third non-district matchup.

Select Division III

Top 8 seeds (each receives first-round bye)

1. Isidore Newman (19-4)

2. Holy Savior Menard (27-5)

3. Houma Christian (18-2)

4. St. Thomas Aquinas (23-10)

5. Parkview Baptist (25-5)

6. Episcopal (13-12)

7. Glen Oaks (18-10)

8. University Lab (20-11)

Two of Menard's losses were close setbacks to District 4-2A champion Rosepine, which is competing in the Division III non-select bracket.

Parkview Baptist has won nine of its last 10. Its only loss was by four points to Glen Oaks on Feb. 7.

The top four seeds are Class 2A schools. No. 5 Parkview Baptist is the highest-seeded Class 3A program.

Non-select Division IV

Top 8 seeds (first four receive first round bye)

1. White Castle (16-11)

2. Lakeview (23-3)

3. Oak Grove (19-3)

4. Arcadia (23-7)

5. Homer (14-7)

6. LaSalle (23-7)

7. East Beauregard (19-11)

8. Lake Arthur (18-10)

Watch out for Class 2A Lake Arthur, which has won eight straight games. The Tigers are battle-tested with losses to large schools such as St. Thomas More, Zachary, Sulphur and North Vermilion - and a win against Southside.

Similarly, White Castle loaded its non-district slate with Class 5A schools Walker, Zachary, St. Amant, Denham Springs and Mandeville.

Select Division IV

Top 8 seeds (each receives first round bye)

1. Southern Lab (23-7)

2. Northwood-Lena (19-6)

3. Highland Baptist (19-8)

4. Ouachita Christian (24-4)

5. Central Catholic (22-5)

6. Hamilton Christian (22-6)

7. Cedar Creek (21-5)

8. Delta Charter (19-9)

Northwood-Lena comes over to the select side after going 34-1 and dominating Class 1A last year. The Lady Gators returned star player Na'Kiyah Allen.

Highland Baptist has taken on some of the top large-school powers such as Walker, Albany and St. Thomas More. Coach Carol Sensley's Bears can light it up from behind the 3-point line. Junior M'Kiyiah Olivier scored her 1,000th career point this season.

Ouachita Christian has a recent state championship to its credit. Southern Lab brought back its entire state championship team.

Non-select Division V

Top 8 seeds (first four receive a first round bye)

1. Fairview (35-6)

2. Hathaway (29-4)

3. Gibsland-Coleman (26-6)

4. Midland (26-10)

5. Reeves (26-6)

6. Florien (29-2)

7. Anacoco (22-11)

8. Hicks (23-10)

Seven of the top eight seeds are in the talent-rich southwest Louisiana area. Fairview and Hathaway showed the ability to not only compete, but beat some of the best big schools.

Fairview, which is Class C, suffered a 76-60 loss to Class B Hicks in December. Following that game, Fairview's only loss in its next 19 games was against Ponchatoula.

Florien's only losses were to Anacoco (by one point in the first game of the year) and against arch-rival No. 10 Zwolle.

Select Division V

There are only six schools in this division. The top four programs receive a first round bye.

1. Oak Hill (30-11)

2. Family Christian (25-12)

3. JS Clark (21-10)

4. Claiborne Christian (17-10)

5. Plainview (14-19)

6. Avoyelles Public Charter (17-20)

Oak Hill moves to select with the rest of the Rapides Parish schools. The Rams, who were the runners-up to Northwood-Lena at the Rapides Parish Tournament, dropped four of their last nine games. Two of the losses were to District 4-B champion Anacoco.

Family Christian junior guard Laura Rachal recently scored her 2,000th career point. J.S. Clark was No. 1 in the rankings for much of the year, but the Opelousas-based program lost coach Breonna O'Conner and lost four of its last five games.