LAKE ARTHUR — Lake Arthur hounded Lafayette Christian guard Jada Richard and spread the ball around on offensive end Friday to win the battle of defending state champions 63-55 in its District 6-2A opener.

“We have been playing well but we really hadn’t found a rhythm all year,” Lake Arthur head coach Vickie Sketoe said. “I felt like tonight we finally found some rhythm and we finally got after it the whole four quarters.

“Usually we will have a bad quarter or have to fight back. I felt the girls played hard, both teams, for four quarters. I can’t ask for anything else. I am proud of them. It was a good win for us.”

The Tigers (18-5, 1-0) got a boost from senior Hailey Broussard, who hit clutch shots in the first half and finished with 13 points. Broussard’s 3-pointer with 4:31 left in the opening quarter knotted the score at 9-9 after the Knights (17-5, 1-1) opened with a 4-0 lead.

She tied the score at 16-16 before the end of the first quarter on a put-back that helped spark a 15-1 run to open the second quarter.

“Hailey has been battling sickness all year, and she had some knee problems,” Sketoe said. “But she is finally coming back now.

“I am really proud of her tonight. She did a great job and hit some key shots. I thought Vivian handled the ball well considering the pressure she was getting put on her.”

Broussard was one of four Tigers in double figures, led by sophomore point guard Sketoe, who scored 17 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out seven assists. Kali Hornsby scored 11 points, and Darrah Broussard finished with 12.

“That that is the big thing,” Sketoe said. “Usually we have two or three. Then we had four and two others get 10 total together, so that helps out with six people scoring.”

Sketoe hit a pair of 3s to open the second quarter, and Hailey Broussard added another that bounced around the rim before going in to put the Tigers up 25-17.

Richard scored a game-high 27 points, but the Tigers held her to three points in the third quarter when the Knights were trying to battle back from a seven-point halftime deficit.

The Knights closed the gap to 33-32 after Monue Duffy and Eve Alexander scored on offensive rebounds and Taelyn Taylor’s 3-pointer. While LCA had a height advantage in the lane, Lake Arthur limited the Knight’s second-chance points to six in the second half. Hornsby led Lake Arthur on the boards with 10, and Darrah Broussard added nine.

“Our job was to contain her as much as we could,” Sketoe said. “(Richard) is a phenomenal athlete.

“I thought for our size, we boarded well. We got in there and fought for it. I think that helped us out a lot with them not getting a lot of second shots in the second half.”

Hornsby dribbled the baseline for a bucket with 4:44 left in the third to cool off the Knights’ surge.