By Dave Moormann
MaxPreps.com
Not only did No. 5 Walker beat the state’s second-ranked girls basketball team, but the LadyCats’ 40-37 victory over Denham Springs represented a pivotal District 5-5A victory against their Livingston Parish rival.
Hannah Fohne produced game-high totals of 12 points and 12 rebounds for Walker, which improved to 23-4 overall and 5-0 in district. Denham Springs fell to 23-5 and 4-1 despite Lacey Brasseaux’s 11 points and eight rebounds.
“I thought we looked nervous and uncomfortable on offense in the first half,” Walker coach John McMillan said. “I told them to relax and keep working hard and good things would happen.
“Once we got the lead, I think we were confident. We knew it wouldn’t be easy. Then it was matter of hanging on, and we did by the skin of our teeth.”
Walker started slowly and was victimized by many of its 19 turnovers. The LadyCats fell behind by as many as 10 points in the first half and trailed at halftime, 17-10.
Walker finally caught Denham Springs at 21-21 on Haleigh Engler’s 3-pointer at 4:32 of the third quarter. Walker proceeded to score 11 of the final 15 points in the quarter, with Fohne making two baskets during the run.
Walker missed five consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter and made only 9 of 23 for the game, but Denham Springs could get no closer then six points before Jasmine Clark hit a 3-pointer just before the final buzzer.
Boys Basketball: Christian Life buries Varnado with 3-pointers
Three-time defending champion Baton Rouge Christian Life Academy looked like a candidate for four in a row after routing Varnado, 82-38, in a District 7-1A boys game.
“They were on fire,” Varnado coach Paul Meyerchick said. “They shot the ball well….There’s not a whole lot you can do.”
CLA bolted to a 55-13 first-half lead while making eight 3-pointers. The Crusaders finished with 11 3-pointers for the game.
Patrick Robinson (four), Gracjan Szuba (three) and Langston Galloway (two) combined for nine of the 3-pointers. Robinson scored a team-high 129 points, with Robinson adding 16 and Szuba 11. CLA improved to 21-6 and 5-0.
CLA’s Todd Foster coached the game barefoot as part of his fundraising efforts for Samaritan’s Feet, which helps raise money and give shoes to children in impoverished nations.
“I think it was a humbling evening for our entire team because the emphasis was Samaritan’s Feet,” Foster said. “I told our kids to play for children somewhere in the world. I’m humbled that we were able to play for their honor tonight.”
Track: Barrett Miller, Malia Cali excel in LSU Indoor Qualifying
Barrett Miller of Baton Rouge Catholic High and Malia Cali of Hammond St. Thomas Aquinas set meet records to highlight action in the LSU Indoor Qualifying.
There were no team scores kept in the event, which was designed to allow athletes to register qualifying times for the state indoor meet.
Miller won the 1,600-meter run in four minutes, 28.79 seconds to knock .45 seconds off the two-year-old record of Covington’s Brett Borne. Walker’s Kyle Steele placed second to Miller in 4:31.66.
Cali won the girls 3,200-meter run in 10:52.03, which was just off her Carl Maddox Fieldhouse composite record of 10:51.18.
Baton Rouge High sophomore Reyna Anderson won the girls 400-meter run in 58.91 seconds. Anderson said it was her first open 400 indoors.
“Now I feel like I have a good chance for a ring at state,” she said.
In the closest race, Bradley Sylve of South Plaquemines edged Cornell Hill of Baton Rouge Redemptorist, 6.40 seconds to 6.41, to win the boys 55-meter dash. All nine runners finished between 6.40 and 6.75.
Siedda Herbert of Port Allen won the girls version in 7.26.
Walker’s Paul Arthur placed first in the boys 3,200 meters in 9:58.56. Baton Rouge Catholic claimed the top two spots in the 800 meters. Julian Parker won in 2:01.93 with Rance Guerin taking second in 2:02.11.
Soccer: Captain Shreve tops Caddo Magnet with hat trick
Brennan Randel’s hat trick was all Captain Shreve needed to win the Division I, District I championship from two-year titleholder and defending state champion Caddo Magnet.
Randel’s three goals lifted Captain Shreve to a 3-1 victory after Caddo Magnet had scored first on Alex Blandin’s goal. It was Captain Shreve’s second victory over Caddo Magnet this season.
“Ending my last Magnet game with a hat trick is something I would never have dreamed of,” Randel said. “It's an incredible feeling to reclaim district after three years.”
Randel’s first goal banked off the far post. His second, shortly before halftime, went high over the sprawling Caddo Magnet goalkeeper.
Cross Country: Paul Primeaux receives Gatorade award
Paul Primeaux, a Baton Rouge Catholic High junior, was named the 2008-09 Gatorade Louisiana Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Primeaux is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in February.
Primeaux won the Class 5A state meet in 15:25 in helping the Bears to the team title. He was an all-state selection after also having won the Catholic Invitational and the Baton Rouge Metro Cross Country Championship.
As a member of the National Honor Society, he owns a 3.74 grade point average. He sings in the school chorus and volunteers at a local homeless shelter. He joined his church in making a humanitarian trip to Virginia.
“You’re always excited to see a guy recognized like this, especially when you know there is more to the person than just the sport,” veteran Catholic coach Pete Boudreaux said. “He’s a great student, who also plays music and is involved in a lot of things.”
Primeaux also runs track for Catholic and teamed with three others to win the 3,200-meter relay in 8:36.84 at the LSU Indoor Qualifying.
Primeaux missed last season with a stress fracture.
