Five Vermilion Parish Girls teams in playoffs on Thursday

Basketball teams around the state begin each season with the hope of reaching the playoffs.
For five teams in Vermilion Parish, those postseason dreams will come to well-earned fruition this evening. The Abbeville Lady Wildcats, the Erath Lady Bobcats, the Gueydan Honey Bears and the North Vermilion Lady Patriots will each tip off today in the first round of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association playoffs.
The Lady Eagles, the No. 2 seed in the Class 1A bracket, will begin their quest for a second state title in two years at home. The Lady Eagles, (21-4) will play host to Logansport (11-11) at 6 p.m.
Vermilion Catholic head coach Kim Guidry, who has won two state titles, including one in 2013, said nothing can be taken for granted during this time of year.
“It doesn’t matter what seed you are,” Guidry said. “You have to show up and play.”
The Honey Bears (20-9) are the 12th seed in Class 1A. That seed has earned the team the rite to stay home to open a potential playoff run. Gueydan will take on No. 21 Montgomery (16-9) at 6:30 p.m.
District 6-3A is sending four teams to the Class 3A playoffs. Abbeville, Erath and North Vermilion, as well as Notre Dame, are among those teams.
Abbeville (16-12) will be on the road as a No. 31 seed. They will make the trip to Evangeline Parish to take on No. 2 Ville Platte (26-4), which finished as the Class 3A runner-up last season. The game will begin at 6:30 p.m.
First-year Abbeville head coach Summer Campbell is not surprised that her team is playing tonight.
“I’m glad we made the playoffs,” she said, “but I really never thought we wouldn’t make it.
“I didn’t have any doubt in my mind.”
Erath making it bought another matchup with district rival Notre Dame. The No. 22 Lady Bobcats (14-11) will make a relative short trip to Crowley to face the No. 11 Lady Pios (19-8). The two teams split two district games, with Erath capturing a 50-49 win at home on Jan. 23. This meeting will take place at Crowley High School for a scheduled 6:30 p.m. start.
North Vermilion, the No. 19 seed in 3A, will be on the road a bit longer for its game. The Lady Patriots (18-8) will head to Shreveport to face No. 14 Evangel Christian. The game will be at Evangel at 6:30 p.m.
North Vermilion alum Casey Meador, who is in his first year leading the Lady Pats, said this season has been nothing short of enjoyable.
“It’s very rewarding to be in the playoffs,” Meador said. “It shows that the kids are willing to work hard and listen. As a coach, that’s the number one thing.
“When you have a group of kids like we have that are willing to buy and do what you ask, that’s when coaching is fun.”