Lafayette Christian Academy (Louisiana) girls determined to put together a repeat performance despite challenging schedule
LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA - An image of a superhero might as well be emblazoned on the basketball jerseys of Lafayette Christian Academy's Lady Knights.
Coming off of winning the Division II select championship last season, LCA coach Errol Rogers assembled an unprecedented schedule for this season. Outside of a handful of district contests, the vast majority of LCA's games have been on the road against elite competition, and every opponent treats its game against LCA as a championship.
"It really has been a grind," Rogers said. "It's been grueling for me, and I'm not even playing. I like how we've responded when things have been tight.
"You don't want to be undefeated, beating everybody by 20-30 points, and in the biggest game of the season, it goes down to the wire, and you don't know how the kids are going to handle it."
The Lady Knights (24-1) have handled it exceedingly well. LSU signee Jada Richard and her teammates have faced more than a dozen teams that reached the 2023 state tournament in Hammond, with only a loss to reigning Division IV select runner-up Southern Lab.
"We know what they're coming with," senior guard Indy Hebert said. "We know they're going to throw everything at us.
"We always fight through it. Even if we're tied at the end of regulation, we find a way to dig deep and come out with the win."
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LCA had a rugged slate in January when they won four games in three days against Madison Prep, LaGrange, Wossman and John Curtis Christian. In the 60-57 win over defending Division II non-select champion Wossman, the Lady Knights trailed by 20 points in the second half.
"The one thing people don't realize is (the comeback) started on the defensive end with Jada," Rogers said. "Once she got the defensive side started, everything started clicking. We were in a groove, the kids started feeding off each other, and the bench got crazy.
"Before you knew it, we were down by six points at the end of the third quarter. At that point, something told me we're going to win this game. I could see how Wossman looked deflated, and our energy had gone to another level."
Richard poured in 35 points in the second half against Wossman and scored a total of 84 points in two games that day. LCA defeated John Curtis Christian in overtime, 68-66, in the nightcap as Richard totaled 37 points.
"When people see how many points Jada scores, they don't realize how much time she puts in the gym," Rogers said. "People say, 'Oh, she's good,' but when you're home sleeping, she's in the gym shooting."
On Jan. 10, the Lady Knights erased a fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime before falling to Southern Lab. LCA again defeated Class 4A power LaGrange, 50-40, on Jan. 12 before rallying from behind to beat reigning Division V select champion Oak Hill in overtime on Jan. 15.
Seventeen of LCA's games have been away from their home gym.
"People are determined to beat us," said Alexander, a senior Florida A&M signee who had 19 points and nine rebounds against John Curtis. "It motivates us to keep getting better.
"We have a target on our backs. Everyone wants to beat us. We have to play our hardest no matter what because we're going to get their best game."
Richard came into her senior campaign with 2,021 career points scored. Aa a junior, she averaged 28.2 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals as LCA won its third consecutive state title. Richard was named Class 4A Outstanding Player and Rogers was named Coach of the Year.
"Winning state is part of the culture here," Richard said.
The 5-foot-8 point guard mentioned a particularly close relationship with LSU head coach Kim Mulkey and Director of Recruiting Kaylin Rice. Richard is able to attend most of LSU's home games and looks forward to the level of competition she'll encounter on the next level.
Richard said she gets the most satisfaction when she makes an assist to Alexander, Hebert or Taelyn Taylor, a veteran junior. Hebert can shoot the 3-ball, but her specialty is defense.
"That's my strongest thing," Hebert said. "I used to guard Jada all the time. That makes it easy."
Photo of Lafayette Christian's Jada Richard (30) by KATC-TV
-- Mike Coppage | @SBLiveLA
