Lady Patriots take care of business against Abbeville

LEROY — The North Vermilion Lady Patriots defeated the Abbeville Lady Wildcats for the third time this season in a matchup between two teams tied for third place in the District 6-3A standings.
In a game of runs by teams, North Vermilion (17-8, 6-3) was able to move into a tie with Erath for second place in the district and take the season series over Abbeville (16-11, 5-4) 3-1.
“The biggest thing is we try and make it hard for them to score,” said North Vermilion coach Casey Meador. “We try to take away layups and not let them use their speed in transition. We try to keep the game low scoring. It was a little more high scoring than usual, but we try to make it hard for them to score and take away their speed. That’s what we focused on.”
Abbeville jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead from the start of the game, and the Lady Patriots responded with a 9-0 run of their own to take a 9-7 advantage. A free throw by Abbeville’s Arrayia Starland gave the Lady Wildcats a 10-7 cushion heading into the second quarter.
From the start of the second quarter, the Lady Patriots went on a 8-0 spurt capped off by a 3-pointer by Morgan Harrington to put North Vermilion on top 17-9 with 5:09 remaining before halftime.
Like a prize fight between two heavyweight champion boxers, Abbeville swung back with a 8-0 run to tie the contest at 17.
Harrington’s second 3-pointer of the second quarter put the Lady Patriots up 26-21 going into halftime.
Out of the halftime break, North Vermilion delivered a blow to Abbeville with a 11-2 run, and built a 14-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the largest of the game by any squad.
“In the third quarter we guarded better and we rebounded better,” Meador said. “That was the only stretch we rebounded and guarded to make it hard for them. We were able to get some confidence offensively. Some shots fell and we were able to stay on the positive side instead of struggling to score.”
However, Abbeville chipped away at the lead, and a bucket by Starland cut the deficit to 44-41 with 2:20 left in the game. Key baskets by Emily Faulk and Harrington sealed the game for the Lady Patriots.
Harrington was the leading scorer for North Vermilion with 18 points, followed by Simone Pillette with 13.
Other NV scorers were: Kaylee Lopez (9), Lanie Breaux (6) and Emily Faulk (4).
Starland matched Harrington’s point total with 18.
Other Abbeville scorers were: Jackie Braxton (8), Timia Briggs (6), Daijha Darby (5), Jada Darby (3), Jasmine Mitchell (3) and Evelyn Briggs (2).
With one game remaining, North Vermilion has a chance to take over sole possession of second place with an Erath loss to Kaplan Friday.
“I think it makes it exciting if we can finish 7-3 in a district that will probably have four teams make the playoffs, said Meador. “It shows that you’re hard, you’re playing pretty well and consistent. We are in a district where you could easily go 4-6 or 5-5 if you don’t take care of some of those little things.”
North Vermilion will travel to play West St. Mary and Abbeville will host Notre Dame Friday night.