Walker coach Korey Arnold
Walker's Breanna Zeringue soars in for 2 of her 30 points against Central on Monday. The Lady Cats cruised to a 47-33 victory.
Candace Ellis pulls up for a jump shot.
Two weeks remain in the 2017-18 regular season and for the Walker girls, that includes handful of key games remaining before they embark on promising postseason journey.
Might as well get things started with a bang.
The Lady Cats head to Zachary for a District 4-5A showdown of two teams in the Top 10 of the unofficial power ratings and 1-2 in the league standings.
“This is a good test for us,” said Walker coach Korey Arnold, whose team won its ninth game in a row Thursday. The Lady Cats (25-5, 3-0 District 4-5A) are No. 7 in the latest unofficial power ratings and Zachary is No. 9.
“They’ve got seven seniors who have been playing together four years, so they have the experience factor and they’re also extremely athletic and talented which can give us some issues. We’re going to have to scheme some stuff to slow them down.”
The Lady Broncos (19-8, 2-0) have been impressive in their two league wins, beating Belaire 71-41 and Live Oak 70-36. Bryana Langford tormented the Lady Eagles with 23 points and is one a core group of seniors that has won 44 games the last two years.
Walker is a differently constructed team with only three seniors. But that hasn’t kept the Lady Cats from turning a frustrating season in 2016-17 into a dominant turnaround.
The Lady Cats have gotten back to the roots of Arnold’s better teams, with pressure defense and strong guard play as the pillars of a team that is never out of a game because of its ability to force turnovers.
“We have to make sure we’re getting up-and-down the court and so does Zachary, so this should be fast-paced,” said Arnold, who won his 300th career game earlier this week when the Lady Cats churned past Scotlandville 48-32. “We have to do a good job staying between them and the goal and contesting everything and keeping them off the boards.”
Meanwhile, the Lady Broncos have their hands full with Walker’s dual scoring threat Breanna Zeringue and Candace Ellis, both of whom have passed 1,000 career points this season.
Those two give the Lady Cats a combination of outside shooting and a knack for driving and drawing fouls and when both are at the top of their games, Walker is a tough crew to beat.
Which makes for plenty of interest against a team that has also proven to be tough-as-nails this season.
“There is no doubt that Zachary has a chance to get to the state tournament, so we’re looking forward to using this game as a measuring stick,” Arnold said. “This is where both teams get to see where we are. It doesn’t define anybody’s season because have both accomplished a lot already and we still have a lot of season left ahead of us.”
Elsewhere in the district, Live Oak (14-11, 0-2) entertains Central (13-10, 1-3) at 6 p.m. and Belaire (4-11, 0-3) plays at Scotlandville (17-10, 2-1) to start a girls-boys doubleheader at 6 p.m.
Eagles, Wildcats look for bouncebacks
In boys District 4-5A play, Live Oak and Walker both hit the court Friday looking to bounce back from tough losses on Tuesday.
The Eagles fell to Denham Springs High 51-45, their second setback vs. the Yellow Jackets in a week, and now head across the parish line to take on Central at 7 p.m.
Live Oak (15-11, 1-1) routed the Wildcats (11-11, 0-2) 74-56 on Jan. 19 in a non-district game, one of the Eagles’ best overall performances of the season. Since then, Live Oak owns a gritty 55-54 win over Zachary sandwiched between the losses to DSHS.
Walker (23-4, 0-1) dropped a 68-67 decision to Scotlandville on Tuesday in its district opener, a magnificent game between two heavyweights that went right down to the wire.
The Wildcats have lost their last two games, both in a stretch when they played three teams sitting either No. 1 or 2 in their respective class’s power ratings – Madison Prep, Riverside Academy and the Hornets.
With five games to go in the regular season, Walker plays host to Zachary (10-15, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.
The other game in the district pits Belaire (5-14, 1-1) against Scotlandville (22-5, 2-0) at 7 p.m. The Bengals claimed their first district win, 65-43 at Central.
District 4-5A schedule
Friday
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Belaire at Scotlandville at Belaire, 5:30 p.m.
Walker at Zachary, 6 p.m.
Central at Live Oak, 6 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Live Oak at Central, 7 p.m.
Zachary at Walker, 7 p.m.
Belaire at Scotlandville, 7 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Division 1 playoffs
DSHS at Captain Shreve, 5:30 p.m.
Zachary at Barbe, 5:30 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Division 1 playoffs
H.L. Bourgeois at DSHS, 7 p.m.
Division 2 playoffs
Central at East Jefferson, 7:30 p.m. (Joe Yenni Stadium)
WRESTLING
City Championships | Catholic High
Saturday
GIRLS BASKETBALL
East St. John at Live Oak, 2 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Division 2 playoffs
Live Oak at Ben Franklin, 3:30 p.m.
WRESTLING
City Championships | Catholic High
