Tom Dodge
It was a battle to the finish as St. Edmund advanced to the second round with a 46-40 win over Hanson Memorial.
The Lady Jays (15-7) now visit No. 1 Ouachita Christian on Friday in the LHSAA Div. IV state quarterfinals.
The Lady Eagles (26-2) opened the playoffs with a 70-21 victory over No. 16 Sacred Heart of Ville Platte.
St. Ed’s jumped out to a 8-2 lead, sparked by a trey from Mary Beth Lafleur, a put-back bucket by Greta Miller and a three-point play from Anna Belle Fontenot.
Hanson Memorial responded with an 8-0 run to gain a 10-8 advantage.
St. Ed’s Tanzy Miller drilled a trey in the closing seconds of the period as the Lady Jays pushed ahead 11-10.
Lafleur nailed back-to-back treys to give the Lady Jays a 17-10 advantage.
St. Ed’s later went on a 6-1 run, aided by buckets from Savannah DeVillier and Fontenot.
A’myrie Foulcard scored five straight points to help the Lady Tigers close the gap to 23-19 late in the half.
Lafleur hit two free throws with 38 seconds remaining as the Lady Jays took a 25-19 advantage into the intermission.
A jumper by Tanzy Miller and two free throws from DeVillier pushed SEH ahead 29-11 to open the second half.
Hanson Memorial answered with an 11-0 surge to take a 32-29 lead, aided by six points from Foulcard, four points by Miya Hidalgo and a trey from Madi St. Blanc.
The two teams exchanged buckets before DeVillier scored twice in the lane to give the Lady Jays a 35-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
St. Edmund sealed the win with a 11-6 final period surge, begun with a drive in the lane by DeVillier and two free throws from Lafleur.
Free throws by Madi Parro and St.Blanc helped Hanson pull closer, 40-38.
Rebecca Benoit hit a free throw for the Lady Jays, but Parro then scored on a second chance bucket with 19 seconds left as the Lady Tigers trailed by one point 41-40.
St. Edmund responded with a 5-0 run with free throws by Benoit and Fontenot and followed by a trey at the buzzer by Lafleur.
Lafleur led the Lady jays with 16 points, while DeVillier chipped in 11 points.
Fontenot contributed eight points and Tanzy Miller added five points in the SEH win.
Foulcard led Hanson Memorial with 17 points.
In Class 3-A playoff action, No. 8 Iota rolled to a 48-24 win over No. 25 Church Point.
The Lady Bulldogs then fell 43-1 to No. 9 Loranger.
In Class 1-A, No. 19 Basile lost 65-41 at No. 14 Haynesville.