Cougars ride big game from Bridges into the second round of the playoffs

Published 11:34 pm Tuesday, February 13, 2024

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Lafayette Christian made light work of Trinity Prep on Tuesday as the Cougars won 49-25 in the first round of the state playoffs.

Tuesday, like much of the season, was the Carmen Bridges show. The senior is already one of the best players in school history and continued to add to her legacy by scoring 33 points, nine rebounds and eight steals to ensure this was not her final game in teal and white. She could have padded her stats if the Cougars did not take their foot off the gas in the second half as 25 of those points came in the first half as she bullied the Lions’ defense.

The Lafayette Christian defense was practically impenetrable on Tuesday. It allowed the Cougars to take a 13-3 lead after one quarter of play and a 38-8 lead to halftime and after a completely dominant second quarter.

Even though the Cougars did not bring the same energy out of the break, they still rode their dominant defense to outscore the Lions 8-0 in the third. Lafayette Christian deployed their reserves in the fourth quarter and were subsequently outscored 17-3 to make the final score more respectable for the road team.

While it was the Bridges show for much of the night, Marta Oria also played a big part in the team walking out with their first playoff win under head coach David Curry. She scored 10 points and came away with nine steals, four assists, three rebounds and three blocks as she had her fingerprints all over the game.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for the Cougars, who went 3-12 overall and 0-7 in the region last year in their first season under Curry and were 3-6 overall the year prior. Lafayette Christian is now 11-6 on the season and it’s not done yet. The Cougars will have their hands full this Thursday when they travel to Rome to take on Unity Christian.