The new kids on the block are headed to Hammond, America.
Second-year Prairieville (26-4) overcame a halftime deficit Thursday with a series of runs to blow open a 65-54 defeat of Salmen (26-4) and advance to the LHSAA Girls’ Marsh Madness Basketball State Tournament next week at Southeastern Louisiana.
While the No. 3 Lady Hurricanes are one of Louisiana’s newest programs, coach Chase Delrie explained their memorable performance and now historic opportunity on the big stage are the results of heavy investment and hours behind the scenes.
“This started last year in Year 1 with the group that we had last year, adding in the pieces that we brought together this year,” said the longtime head coach whose previous stops include Lutcher, French Settlement and Dutchtown. “I’ll be honest with you: On Aug. 7, the first day of school, we set really high expectations. One of those was to be a top-four seed and put ourselves in a position to play this game at home. One was to get to the Final Four and then ultimately to try to win a state championship.
“I’m just so overjoyed, enthused with these ladies and just their ability to be so resilient. We overcame so much adversity this year. The cliche is ‘you deserve it.’ This group really does deserve it. And tonight’s just a credit to all the work and all the things we’ve put together to get to this point.”
The Division-I Non-Select quarterfinal itself was a test of Prairieville’s mettle under pressure after an early run by Salmen allowed the Lady Spartans to play from ahead well into the third quarter.
But the Lady ‘Canes began turned the tide with complementary basketball fueled by hustle plays on defense, loose balls and the boards, pushing the pace and attacking the basket.
Prairieville scrapped into a back-and-forth middle of the third quarter, then rode a late spurt on series of transition scores by senior senior Rhian Comery and freshman Kailey Miles to take a 45-40 advantage into the final period.
“We just started playing more of team ball,” Comery said. “At the beginning, we had nerves. This is a very important game for all of us. This whole team has been through so much all together. And we came in the locker room and were like, ‘We’ve got to do this for us… And if we do this for us, we’re gonna do what we need to do.'”
That momentum continued to build to a long, over-the-top inbound from Miles to Comery to stretch the lead to double digits with less than four minutes remaining to send the home gymnasium into a roar.
And Miles, fellow freshman Aubrey Theriot and company found their mark at the foul-line to hold off Salmen’s desperate comeback attempts.
Comery, a UNO signee, finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot in her final game on Prairieville’s home court.
Miles notched a double-double of her own with 14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
“Our coach said from the start: ‘We’ve gotta control the boards,” Comery said. “He said they wanted us with the most boards, he wanted us with double-doubles, and that’s what we gave ’em.”
Theriot scored 19 points with three of the team’s four 3-pointers and four late free throws, and Breanna Sanders (3), Marly Gatlin (2) and KK Syonakemp (2) chipped in a basket each along with their respective efforts defensive efforts and a game-high five assists by Gatlin.
“Those two (Comery and Miles) in particular have a tight bond together — they’re best friends,” Delrie said. “Rhian’s done a great job this year kind of taking Kailey under her wind. We always knew Kailey had that in her, and what a better (night) than tonight to come out and show that off. Rhian’s been a force all season. She’s been so dominant. She struggled a little bit early, but we knew she was gonna find a way.
“And I thought Breanna Sanders, too, what we got out of her and the guts she showed defensively, kind of shutting down No. 10 and making it difficult for her in the second half was remarkable. And then you piece in everybody together. Aubrey Theriot the last two games in the playoffs has been giving us that scoring punch. We had a lot of confidence in her going to the free-throw line at the end of the game. And even Marly coming out struggling in the first half, picking up a couple of fouls and then just being able to kind of settle in and do the things we were asking her to do.”
Senior shooting guard Akayla McMooian led Salmen with 19 points, five rebounds and two assists, and senior forward Bryelle Major added 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Junior point guard Kendal Thomas often paced the Spartans with 11 points, five assists, five rebounds and a steal, and An’Gana’e Domino and Parris Powell added five and four points, respectively.
Salmen’s quarterfinal run marked its deepest playoff finish since 2018.
Prairieville’s first state-tournament game in the program’s young history will come Thursday at 8 p.m. in Southeastern Louisiana’s University Center against No. 2 Slidell (29-1).
“From the beginning, since we first got here in August, we put in the work, we put in everything,” Miles said. “We knew what we could do. We knew our abilities and all that.”
Added Comery: “We had a goal in mind, and that’s what we’re chasing. We had these goals. We were undefeated at home. Now we’re going to the Final Four. That’s where we want to be.”
