Oliphant explodes for 36 as Lady Spartans squash Trinity

Courtesy of Marq Mitcham

Caroline Oliphant gunned in 36 points as the Prairie View Lady Spartans dismantled Trinity Episcopal 54-33 Monday night at Spartan Gym. With Logan Tubbs, the team’s only other senior and second-leading scorer out of the lineup after undergoing surgery to have her appendix removed last week, the brunt of the offensive load fell on Oliphant. And did the 5-4 fifth-year starter ever respond. Single-handedly outscoring the Lady Saints, Oliphant scored the Lady Spartans’ first 13 points and finished the night 12-of-20 from the floor, including a sizzling 6-of-7 from 3-point range. While Oliphant was the offensive catalyst, she had plenty of help on the defensive side of the floor as the Lady Spartans contested nearly every shot and forced a myriad of turnovers. “That was as good of an effort as we’ve had all year,” said Prairie View coach Dave Farrell. “We played well and played together. We had a great defensive effort. That’s a good basketball team we played tonight.” Trinity certainly had the Lady Spartans attention after winning the previous matchup 41-36 in Natchez on Jan. 5. Since then, the Lady Spartans (18-4) have won six straight. Trinity led 2-0 and 4-2 in the early going, but Oliphant soon took the game into her own hands. Draining an open 3 on the kickout pass from Jerri Ann Lord, Oliphant put the Lady Spartans ahead to stay. On the Lady Spartans next possession, Oliphant connected for 3 more — this time on a contested shot from the left baseline. After Trinity’s Sarah Bryan scored from down low, Oliphant stroked her third consecutive trey to put the Lady Spartans up 11-6. Rosie Woods’ transition bucket again closed the gap to 3, but Oliphant’s jumper from the free throw line and Lord’s 3 off the glass at the buzzer staked Prairie View to a 16-8 lead at the end of the quarter. Trinity got back into the game on the strength of a 6-0 run to start the second quarter. Madelyn Cross finished a drive off of a nice move and Bethany Ogden added a pair of transition buckets to bring the Lady Saints within 16-14. Prairie View responded by outscoring Trinity 11-3 over the final five minutes of the half. With the Lady Spartans leading 20-16, Kristin Kindrix’s steal set up Oliphant on the break. Moments later, Oliphant lit up her fourth 3 of the half to put Prairie View up by nine, 25-16, with just under two minutes to play in the half. Prairie View carried a 27-17 edge into the break and Trinity never closed within double digits in the second half. Lord’s layup widened the spread to 39-24 going into the fourth quarter. Prairie View gradually added to its lead throughout the final frame. Oliphant snatched a team-high seven rebounds and five steals to go along with her 36 points. Molly Gregory took up the slack for Tubbs’ absence inside with nine points. Trinity (15-8) received 14 points from Ogden.

Prairie View resumes MAIS District 6-2A play tonight at 6 p.m. in Pineville against Cenla Christian.