Lady Pirates manhandle Lady Blue Jays 56-31

The Lady Pirates flexed their muscle at home from the opening tip en route to a 56-31 win over St. Edmund Monday night.
A fairly close game in the first half, ballooned into a 30-point blowout in the second half, thanks to a fierce defensive effort by Kaplan.
“I think we executed well on offense,” said Kaplan head coach Amelia Broussard. “We had a lot of road games (so far) and tonight was one of the first ones back at home. I think we played the way we want to be able to play at home, and show that this is our court.”
Kaplan jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, but their inability to guard St. Edmund off the dribble kept the game to only a 13-point gap at halftime.
After the break, the Lady Pirates outscored St. Edmund 20-6 to blow the game wide open and activate cruise control to the victory.
“We weren’t guarding off the dribble as well as I know we can, or as well as I wanted them to,” Broussard said. “At halftime we talked about it, and we began to guard much better in the second half.”
Three Lady Pirates scored in double figures, with Rylie Frick leading the way with 15 points. Lauren Touchet added 11, and Kailey LeJune earned 10.
Other Kaplan scorers were: Aimeé Bourque (4), Caroline Touchet (4), Caroline Guidry (3) and Tory Riggs (9).
Kaplan finished the game out strong, with a few players continuing to dive after lose balls, despite their enormous lead in the fourth quarter. That was something that was important, according to Broussard.
“Since the beginning of the season we talked about effort perseverance and intensity,” she said. “Over the years it might have went by the waist side, but this year we are trying to change that. Something clicked tonight and I think it comes from turning up the intensity in practice.”
The Lady Pirates will face off against the VC Lady Eagles at the Yuletide Tournament Friday at 7 p.m.