Dutchtown and St. Amant miss out on playoffs, Lady Lions earn spot

Things got interesting on Monday when the LHSAA girl's basketball playoff brackets were released.

The brackets were not kind to Ascension's three 5A powers. None of the three teams made the playoff field.

East Ascension was never expected to earn a spot after finishing the season just 6-19. However, despite finishing with winning records, both St. Amant and Dutchtown were left out of the playoff mix.

The Lady Gators are just one year removed from winning their district. This season, they finished with a solid 18-13 overall record, and they finished tied for second in the district with a 7-3 mark.

Even with those solid numbers, the Lady Gators missed out on the postseason by four slots.

Dutchtown finished with an identical record. They were tied with St. Amant for second in the district.

However, an ugly 55-33 loss to East Ascension in the season finale destroyed any hopes they had at squeezing into the postseason. They ended up missing the playoffs by five slots.

Though the Lady Griffins and Lady Gators had tough luck, Ascension Christian was able to earn a spot in the 1A playoffs despite a losing record.

The Lady Lions finished the year 7-17 overall and just 2-8 in district play.

Despite their struggles, they were awarded a seed in the playoffs. It's the Lady Lions' second straight playoff appearance.

As a No. 30 seed, Ascension Christian will be on the road against third-seeded West St. John tonight for the opening round.

West St. John is actually one of the Lady Lions' district foes.

The Lady Rams went 25-4 during the year and won the district title. They played Ascension Christian twice throughout the year--beating them both times by scores of 57-34 and 54-29.