LSU women’s basketball signee Jada Richard scored 84 points over two games Saturday, and it was her final points in the second game that lifted Lafayette Christian to a championship Saturday at the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic.
In a 68-66 overtime win against John Curtis that decided the championship of the 16-team girls Platinum Bracket, the quick-shooting Richard scored the winning points when she made a pair of free throws with 29.3 seconds remaining in the extra period.
Richard scored 37 points against Curtis and helped Lafayette Christian overcome a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter. In a morning semifinal, she scored 47 points — 35 of them in the second half — as the Knights overcame a 20-point deficit and defeated Wossman 60-57.
“I’m one of those players, if my team needs me, I put them on my back,” Richard said. They instill confidence in me, so I’m just thankful for them.”
Against Curtis, Richard scored eight points in a row for her team in the fourth quarter, including a jumper that put the Knights ahead 58-56. Her final six points came in overtime, when she went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
“What I loved about her was how she talked to her teammates,” Lafayette Christian coach Errol Rogers said. “ ‘Hey, this one is not over yet. We don’t quit just because they’re up 20. We’re going to keep fighting and get it done.’ That’s what she did.”
Florida A&M signee Eve Alexander had 19 points and nine rebounds for Lafayette Christian, which took an eight-point lead into halftime.
Curits junior Imani Daniel had 16 points and 12 rebounds. She assisted on a basket by sophomore Chikae Desdunes (16 points) that tied the score at 58-all with 7 seconds left in regulation.
In overtime, Daniel tied the score with a drive to the basket before Richard scored the final two points from the free-throw line. Curtis missed two shots that would have tied the score in the final second of overtime.
“We have to be consistent,” said Curtis coach Alendra Brown, whose team reached the Division I select state final last season. “I felt like we did a lot of good things and it worked. We were able to make … good open shots. Then there was possessions where we didn’t do the right thing. We got to be consistent with what we know how to do best.”