KPLC Sports

Southwest Louisiana Lions Club Open

It's been an exciting first 3 days out at Westlake's National Golf Club of Louisiana and the Southwest Louisiana Lions Club Open. Between Tuesday's Pro-AM, Wednesday's First Round and Thursday's Second Round, the Adams Pro Golf Tour has given spectators a lot to cheer about. Jose Toledo of Guatemala has led the way throught first two rounds, showing some great recovery skills as well as a solid recovery game. Anthony Rodriguez, a contestant on the Golf Channel's "Big break" has displayed some phenomenal play, especially in the sand. Defending Champ Shawn Stefani failed to make the cut after firing a disasterous 78 in the second round.

As far as the locals go, only one made the cut. Chris Walling is at even par after shooting back-to-back 72s and is set to go early Friday morning.

High School hoops

While the big schools fell by the wayside in the annual winnowing down process known as the Louisiana High School Basketball Playoffs, a pair of small town schools did the Lake Area proud and deserve to be recognized.

First there is Fairview, which once again proved to be the class of the Ladies Top 28 in Class B, taking home their 5th straight title in convincing fashion over Hathaway in Hammond this past weekend. Head Coach Kyle Jinks has had many great teams across the last decade, however even he will admit this year's crop was special.

Taylor Maricle and Brittany Maddox led an attack that suffocated the Hornets on defense, then shot the lights out on offense on their way to their 5th State Crown.

But perhaps even more impressive was the play of that other small school powerhouse, Starks. The Lady Panthers so easily took apart defending Class C State Champ Plainview, that the engraving on the championship trophy could have commenced right after the opening tip.

Starks held Plainview with out a basket in the first quarter, on their way to a 19-2 lead after the opening stanza. The Lady Panthers had great seniors such as Baliegh Bussell and Kacie Willis. However the leader of the pack in the title game was a super sophomore named Ciara Bussell, Baliegh's cousin. Ciara was so deadly accurate from beyond the arc that I didn't realize she missed three attempts until the postgame press conference. Going 8 for 11 from 3-point land and leading all scorers with 25 points made her more than deserving of MVP honors, as she was so honored with after the game.

In closing, I'd also like to offer my tip of the cap to the 4-A Champions from Jennings. The Lady Bulldogs might have had the toughest row to hoe to get to Hammond, having to play perennial power St. Louis three times in the regular season just to win the district title.

McNeese men's and women's basketball

The McNeese State Men's and Women's Basketball teams have truly flipped the script as athletic programs. The Cowgirls were Cellar Dwellers in the Southland Conference just last season, after suffering through a 20 loss season. The Cowboys were nearly as bad and were denied the chance to even play in the SLC's post season tournament. But how quickly things have changed.

Both Brooks Donald Williams and Dave Simmons willed their teams to regular season titles in the Southland, as well top seeds in their respective conference tourneys. ESPN's "Bracketology" has both teams in their respective NCAA tournaments. Coach Williams was named SLC Coach of the Year, and if Coach Simmons isn't rewarded similarly, it's a crying shame.

What these two programs have done in such a short period of time speaks to the quality of their two bench bosses and how they've managed to turn losing programs into championship caliber squads.

This week in Katy, TX, win or lose, there's no question that Williams and Simmons have put McNeese Basketball back on the map, and more than likely they'll remain there for a long time.