By LaMar Gafford

Special to the American Press

HAMMOND — Playing in its first state championship basketball game, Oakdale knocked off plenty of Louisiana’s top teams to get to here.

The Warriors added another team to their mantle Friday when they defeated Lakeview 53-48 in the Division IV non-select championship game at the Southeastern Louisiana University Center.

“I’m just so humble and so thankful,” Oakdale head coach Renotta Edwards said. “Those are the only two things I can say at this point. It’s surreal. All I could do is cry and I’m not much of a crier. It just emotional knowing that something you’ve worked your whole life. I never even thought that this would be an opportunity I’d get.”

Warriors sophomore Emani Young earned Most Outstanding Player honors by scoring 17 points and 7-of-11 shooting. Young also had four steals and three blocks on the defensive end.

Oakdale (21-12) dominated the first half as it jumped to a 27-14 lead at halftime and forced the Gators to turn over the ball 18 times.

The Warriors also forced Lakeview sophomore Timberlyn Washington to get into foul trouble.

Lakeview (26-4) performed better in the second half as Washington stayed out of foul trouble, but the Warriors continued to shoot well, making 11 of 22 field goal attempts.

“We knew that we had to contain her and don’t let anybody else go off on us,” Edwards said. “If we just hold her to the bare minimum, they weren’t going to hurt us.”

The death knell came late in the fourth when Washington cut the deficit to 49-46 with 1:41 left, but an intentional foul by Lakeview allowed Jolie West to convert on a four-point play.

Washington finished with 19 points, five assists and three steals.

For Young, it was a dream that came true, but almost didn’t happen when the Warriors lost four consecutive district games at one point. However, the turnaround came when they beat District 4-2A champion Rosepine in the regular-season finale.

“We’ve been dreaming about this ever since the beginning of the season,” Young said. “When we had a losing streak, we felt like we couldn’t even make it here, so we put in the work and this is the outcome.”