BWS Sports

JENNINGS — Earlier this season, the Anacoco Lady Indians were defeated by the Hathaway Lady Hornets at home by 38 points.

But on Thursday night, the ninth-seeded Lady Indians got their revenge when it mattered more … the state quarterfinals.

Bailey Davis connected on a layup with about five seconds to go to lift the Lady Indians to a 43-42 comeback victory over the top-ranked Lady Hornets at Hathaway High School.

With the win, the Lady Indians secured their spot in the Class B semifinals, where they will take on the fifth-ranked Oak Hill Lady Rams, who defeated Midland in overtime on Thursday.

“Our girls have been working relentlessly over the past two months,” Anacoco head coach Tim Parker said. “They have improved tremendously and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The Lady Indians seemed to struggle throughout the first half, falling behind by 10 points early in the first period, before cutting the gap to 14-8 at the end of the frame. However, the Lady Hornets were able to rebuild that lead to 10 points at the halftime intermission, 28-18.

Anacoco was unable to get any closer in the third quarter as it trailed, 38-28, going into the final eight minutes of action.

But the Lady Indians were far from done.

Instead of folding up the tent, Anacoco used a 15-4 rally to overcome the double-digit deficit to pull off a huge upset en route to qualifying for Marsh Madness, where the Lady Indians will play on Tuesday afternoon.

“This was a hard-fought game and I want to give God all the glory,” Parker said. “But my girls have been putting their teammates before themselves and that has been key. Their love for each other and putting God first has brought them to this point.”

Davis led the way for Anacoco with 18 points, while Abbie Dowden finished with 10 points.

Lamiyah Sanchez had 20 points for Hathaway, leading all scorers, while Chloey Guidry came in with 14 points.