ROSEPINE — A pair of defending state champions and top-ranked teams battled it out at Rosepine High School on Friday with the District 4-2A title on the line. Oakdale controlled the first half, but Rosepine rallied in the second half to win 65-54 and claim its fourth consecutive district championship.

“I just trust the girls,” Rosepine head coach Charles Kiely said. “No matter who we play and where we play, they are never out of a basketball game.

“It is our conditioning. It is all their work. They put in all the extra time, so you have to be in shape to put us away.”

Led by a game-high 21 points from junior Amaya Shine, Rosepine, the No. 1 team in nonselect Division III, has won 18 consecutive games, including a 75-71 double-overtime win at Oakdale on Jan. 23.

“We just worry about the next one,” Kiely said. “We are not even counting them.

“This senior class, this is their fourth district championship in a row. I will never bet against them because they are just a solid group. Oakdale is a very well-coached team and a very good basketball team. That was two state champions going to work.”

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association will release the playoff brackets on Monday.

Oakdale, the top-ranked team in nonselect Division IV, dominated the boards in the first half, outrebounding the Eagles 20-8 with 10 offensive rebounds. But the Eagles limited the Warriors’ rebounding in the second and held a slight 18-16 advantage. Oakdale scored eight points off offensive rebounds in the first half, but only two in the second. Kelly Norris had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

“It just became a focal point, get on the glass and gang rebound,” Kiely said. “If we can secure a rebound, then we can get it on transition.”

Jolie West scored off an offensive rebound on back-to-back possessions to give the Warriors a 28-21 lead with 2:17 left in the second quarter. Emani Young’s putback gave Oakdale its largest lead, 32-22, with 17 seconds left in the first half. Young led Oakdale with 17 points.

Hayley Calcote’s buzzer-beater at the end of the first half cut Oakdale’s lead to seven, 32-25, and the Eagles went on a 19-4 run to close out the third quarter and take their first lead since the opening quarter. Shine hit her third 3-pointer with 1:32 left in the third quarter for a 40-38 lead. She stole the ball on the Warriors’ ensuing possession and went coast-to-coast for a layup.

Rosepine led 50-40 after Kailea Blankenbaker’s three, but the Warriors nearly erased the deficit with an 8-0 run. Young hit a shot in the lane to cut the Eagles lead to 50-48 with 5:37 left.

Blankenbaker and Nevaeh Rivera scored 11 points apiece for the Eagles.

Kaylee Bradley scored 10 points for Oakdale, and Akeelah Hobson had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Boys

Oakdale100

Rosepine 78

ROSEPINE — Seniors D.J. Johnson and Derrick Green combined for 70 points and Oakdale scored a season-high 100 points to beat Rosepine on Friday.

Johnson scored a game-high 40 points, including five 3-pointers, and Green finished with 30.

The teams combined for 21 3-pointers with Rosepine’s Hayden Brister leading all shooters with six. Brister led Rosepine with 32 points.

Rosepine led 14-11 in the first quarter until Johnson buzzer beater tied it at 14-14.

Oakdale held double-digit leads in the second and third quarter, but the Eagles got back within three each time. Brister drove the lane for a bucket with less than three minutes left in the first half to cut the Warriors lead to 37-34. Aiden Snell’s three-point play with 2:44 left in the third quarter cut the Eagles’ deficit to 64-61, but the Warriors used a 10-0 run to pull away.