Vernon Parish girls’ basketball teams are poised to bring back two state championships from the LSHAA state tournament in Hammond.
Semi-finals in Division V non-select paired #1 Hicks and #4 Midland in the 6:15pm game. The Hicks Lady Pirates trailed the first half but mounted a thrilling comeback victory 51-45 to earn their 5th shot at a state title in the past six years. #2 Fairview outran #3 Anacoco in the 8 p.m. semi-final 81-70. Hicks will face Fairview, Friday at 8 p.m. for the state title.
Hicks, the District 4-B champs, finished the season 33-4. The Lady Pirates beat district rival Pitkin in the quarterfinals, 51-46. Midland, from District 6-B sports a 25-10 record and beat Bell City in the quarterfinals 56-29. Hicks was led in the semis by seniors Reese Stephens and Cheyenne Phillips with 12 and 23 points respectively. Hicks took their first lead of the game early in the third quarter and used outstanding bench play with 14 points coming from girls who don’t score a lot. The Midland defensive scheme was to shut down Phillips and Stephens but the rest of the Lady Pirates picked up the load in the second half. Hicks just skipped a year of wearing the crown of state champs. They are the defending champions in Class C from 2020-2022. They won the Class B title in 2019.
The semi-final between Anacoco (33-6) and Fairview (30-7) reunited two old foes with a long history of playoff battles. Fairview is the defending 2023 champion in Class B, beating Hathaway by 10 last year. They won the title in 2022, beating Oak Hill and in 2021, beating Hathaway for the title. Anacoco has lost in the quarterfinals the last three years. The Lady Indians lost in the finals in 2017-2018-2019. Most teams the Lady Panthers play have trouble with their frenetic pace. Anacoco handled it well but at the end could not match the tempo.
#1 Rosepine in Division III non-select is seeking back-to-back state titles for the first time in program history. They meet #4 Westlake in the semis today at 1 p.m. The winner will play either #2 Amite or #3 Doyle in the finals Saturday at 8 p.m. to close out the tournament. The Lady Eagles won the 2023 state title, beating #2 Amite, 69-61. Rosepine fell to #3 Rayville in the 2022 state semi-finals, 69-63. Rosepine beat #8 Springfield 59-44 in the 2023 quarterfinals to earn their semi-final spot.