Louisiana 'Marsh Madness' girls basketball recap: Parkview Baptist, Oakdale get chance to repeat as champions

Arcadia, J.S. Clark and University Lab also victorious on Day 1 of the tournament

Monday was the opening day of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association's "Marsh Madness" girls state basketball tournaments in Hammond. 

Pairings announced for Louisiana girls 'Marsh Madness' state basketball tournaments 

Here is a recap of the opening day of action on the Southeastern Louisiana University campus.

Division IV non-select semifinal

No. 1 Arcadia 60, No. 4 Lakeview 29

The Lady Hornets (31-3) turned an expected tussle into a one-sided affair, cruising into Friday's championship game with a dominant second half. Arcadia outscored the Lady Gators after intermission, 39-17.

Justice Young and DeAsia Alexander combined for 17 of the Lady Hornets' 21 first-half points while their teammates made a collective 2-of-14 field goals.

Alexander had six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the first half; Young grabbed four rebounds for Arcadia, which warmed up to a 42.9 field goal percentage in the second quarter (20% in the first).

Lakeview (26-4) made 11-of-51 field goals and was 1-for-11 on 3-pointers. The two teams combined for only one made 3 (by Janiya Armstrong). Timberlyn Washington scored a team-high 11 points with three rebounds and three steals. Alonna Henderson added 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Arcadia turned it up in the fourth quarter, shooting 71% (10-of-14 FG). Young finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Alexander, a freshman, had 12 points, 15 rebounds, eight blocked shots, four assists and two steals. Ryhanna Abney added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.

The Lady Hornets, who have won six state titles, defeated No. 8 Oak Grove in the quarterfinals, 55-51. Lakeview lost to Oakdale in the 2023 title game.

Louisiana high school girls basketball Top 25 rankings (2/25/2024)

Division V select semifinal

No. 2 J.S. Clark 50, No. 3 Family Christian 36

The Lady Bulldogs (23-6) held up their end of the bargain in creating a potential rematch with No. 1 Oak Hill in the championship.

J.S. Clark recorded 10 steals and forced 14 turnovers in the first half to build a 25-15 lead at the break. The pressure didn't ease up in the second half as Family Christian (25-12) finished with 27 turnovers.

Ramya Pickney had seven of J.S. Clark's 18 steals to go along with six points, five assists and four rebounds. Taylor Barnaba scored five points - well below her average - but made a substantial impact with six steals and four assists.

Tristanie Albert paced the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points. Erianna Ned had 10 points. Jailee Edwards and Hailey Robins shot a combined 6-for-7 from the field and each finished with six points. Akeelah Williams had four points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

Perimeter struggles at the tournament continued as the two teams combined to make 4-of-18 from downtown. Albert made J.S. Clark's only 3-pointer. Aaliyah Gaddis posted 18 points with six rebounds for Family Christian. Traeshira Harry chipped in 10 points and six boards.

Division III select semifinal

No. 2 Parkview Baptist 65, No. 3 Holy Savior Menard 46

The PBS Lady Eagles (23-10) will get the chance to repeat as state champions. Addyson Bernhard made 11-of-13 free throws en route to scoring 26 points. Anna Richerson added 12 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.

The Menard Lady Eagles (22-12) got 18 points and nine rebounds from Lauren Smith and 14 points and 14 rebounds from Carley Meynard. The rest of the team made 4-of-24 field goal attempts.

Menard sank 11-of-16 free throws but was 1-for-11 from beyond the arc, and the Lady Eagles turned the ball over 19 times compared to Parkview Baptist's five.

Parkview Baptist put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring Menard 24-12 for a 54-32 lead.

Division III select semifinal

No. 4 University Lab 50, No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas 42

The U-High Lady Cubs scored the game's final eight points to advance to the championship game vs. No. 2 Parkview Baptist at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Freshman Kennedy Aldridge had several big buckets down the stretch, according to LGRBasketball, and finished with 15 points, five steals and four rebounds. Taylor Lee scored 17 points with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Payton Rowbatham scored 17 points with seven rebounds for STA (14-14), which upset top-seeded Dunham in the quarterfinals and led U-High 16-5 at the end of the first quarter. Kaitlynn Barton added four points with 14 rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.

STA was outscored 15-3 in the third quarter when it was held without a field goal by U-High (24-11), but the Lady Falcons rallied from a nine-point deficit to even the score in the fourth.

Division IV non-select semifinal

No. 2 Oakdale 57, No. 6 White Castle 50

There will be no sneaking up on teams this year for the second-seeded Lady Warriors, who won the 2023 state title as a No. 9 seed.

Oakdale (27-7) led 25-13 at the 2:03 mark of the second quarter as Kaylee Bradley accounted for 15 points, according to LGRBasketball, and expanded the margin to 29-15 at halftime.

The Lady Bulldogs (22-12) clawed back in the second half and trailed by only two points, 36-34, at the end of the third quarter, but Oakdale scored 13 of the final 20 points to advance to the championship game vs. No. 1 Arcadia on Friday at 4 p.m.

It's a rematch of a 2023 semifinal won by Oakdale, 47-46, over a fourth-seeded Arcadia squad.

Bradley (10-of-19 FG) totaled 24 points and nine rebounds. The Lady Warriors outrebounded White Castle, 45-21. Emani Young added 17 points and five boards, while Nariah Williams and Akeelah Hobson grabbed nine rebounds apiece and combined to score eight points.

Oakdale made 15-of-23 free throws (62.5%), while White Castle shot 9-of-24 (37.5 %). Oakdale was 0-for-9 from 3-point range.

Kelsey Robinson and Cambrieion Link accounted for all but nine of White Castle's points. Robinson scored 21 with six rebounds. Link, who played through foul trouble, added 20 points. 

Photo of Parkview Baptist's Anna Richerson by Brett Duke, NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune 

-- Mike Coppage | @SBLiveLA