The Lady Pride are headed to the Cap-8 championship for the first time in a several years following their 54-44 win over Heritage.
The Pride took an early 11-10 lead into the second quarter. The first half was neck-and-neck, with numerous lead changes. At halftime, it was 23-22, with the Huskies leading.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Pride were victorious, claiming a ten point win and a spot in the Championship game.
The Pride were the third seed in the Cap-8 tournament, while the Huskies were the second seed, so to an extent this was considered an upset. The Pride lost Millbrook, who is undefeated, in the conference title on Friday at Broughton.
The Pride have had a successful season so far; they finished 10-4 in conference play, and have certainly come along way in four years.
“It’s really nice to actually feel like a threat when you walk onto the court, and have people scared to play you,” said Shelby Lattimore, a senior forward. The Pride have secured home-court advantage in the opening round of the State playoffs, as well.
“Having a home game [in the playoffs] is really big because girls’ basketball has never been this big at Leesville,” Lattimore continued. Support has grown, with an increase in fans and many accounts from the Leesville community tweeting encouraging words.
Part of the success in attributed to Ben Daniels, first year head coach. Players say that he has been instrumental and has developed a team atmosphere. Now they are in a position that four years ago would have been nearly impossible.
