Defense is top priority for Lady Gators | Ascension | theadvocate.com – The Advocate

Defense wins championships is a term used in most sports and nothing is more important to the St. Amant Lady Gators basketball team.

We hang our hat on defense, defense wins championships and that is what we teach, said coach Bianca Harvey.

The former Donaldsonville and collegiate standout has brought her toughness and hard play mentality to the Lady Gators program. Sitting at 10-8 (as of press time) and number 17 in the power rankings, the Lady Gators have started district 5-5A play and it will be tough.

Our district is tough; we have to put together a full game ensure wins. All of the teams in our district are tough and well coached," Harvey said.

The Lady Gators had an outstanding season last year, winning district and finished 21-10 overall with a close loss to 5A powerhouse, Walker, in the second round of the playoffs. Gone from last years team is Amana Gray, the team leader and point guard.

The Lady Gators return some fire power with four starters. We return Caterina Byars, Deniya Thornton, Amiyah Barrow and Bret Mayers, all solid players, Harvey said.

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Thornton leads with 14.4 points per game followed by Barrow (11.8 ppg), Byars (11.7 ppg) and Mayers at 4.8 points per game.

The Lady Gators have some depth including some top newcomers and potential starters. Halle Haydel is a junior and she is now the starting point guard. Senior Rylie Boudreaux returns after an injury and is the sixth man, she provides a spark with her play and rebounding as well according to Harvey.

Senior Kalli Hano is a post player that works and provides quality minutes coming off the bench. Junior Taylor Shields returns for her junior year and has been a great defender and plays key minutes. The strength of the Lady Gators is defense, to no surprise, and Harvey likes what she sees so far.

We can stretch the floor with our bigger players, they can guard all positions. We basically play with five guards, who can push the ball up court in transition as well providing pressure from our defense. We must continue to spread the floor, this will allow us to open the middle for penetration on offense, Harvey said.

Scoring points is fun, but the Lady Gators will continue to defend every possession because that will be their focus each night. Anyone can have an off night on offense on any given day, but you should never have an off night on defense, Harvey said.

Sounds like a recipe for success, the Lady Gators have bought in, and it shows each night.

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Defense is top priority for Lady Gators | Ascension | theadvocate.com - The Advocate