Late rally lifts Lady Dogs to victory over Carencro

The Iota Lady Bulldogs overcame a sluggish start and exploded for 26 points in the second half to rally for an impressive 43-36 victory over Carencro Tuesday evening.
Carencro, ranked No. 5 in Class 4A, fell to 8-5 with the loss.
The Lady Bears made it all the way to the Class 4A quarterfinals last spring despite starting one senior and four freshmen.
The Lady Dogs, who travel to Rayne on Dec. 29 for a 6 p.m. contest against the Lady Wolves, improved to 9-3.
The Lady Dogs struggled from the floor in the first half and managed just 17 points over the first two frames.
Avery Young did most of the damage for the Lady Dogs by scoring 11 of Iota’s 17 points in the first two frames.
In the first period, the Lady Bears doubled up Iota thanks to three 3-pointers from Je’Nae Johnson, Shelcie Leblanc and Cereniti Charles that helped the guests build a 16-8 lead.
Young scored four of her game-high 21 points in the frame.
The Lady Dogs chipped away at the lead in the second quarter with Young scoring seven points to get the hosts within five at 22-17.
The Lady Bears went cold from there and managed just three baskets and a free throw in the third quarter.
Iota, on the other hand, got into a rhythm and forged ahead with a 15-point outburst.
Young added seven more points during the run and forward Sage Wimberly had five. Leah Hebert also knocked down a big 3-pointer in the frame to help the Lady Dogs take a 32-29 lead into the final stanza.
The Lady Dogs were able to maintain their lead over the final eight minutes despite not hitting a single shot from the floor.
The hosts scored all their points from the free throw line in the quarter by knocking down 11 of 22 attempts. Overall, the Lady Dogs connected on 18 of 34 from the charity stripe.
LeBlanc and Johnson each knocked down another long ball each in the final frame, but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Bears were outscored 11-7.
In addition to Young’s 21-point outburst, she also grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out three assists and logged four steals.
Wimberly followed with nine points, six rebounds and three blocked shots and Leah Hebert had seven points and three assists.
Brinna Hebert scored four points and had a team-high 11 boards and Emily Hebertt added two points and six rebounds.
Johnson was the leader for the Lady Bears with 10 points and Leblanc finished with six.
The Lady Dogs are currently on a 3-game winning streak and are ranked No. 8 in Class 3A. They own victories over Class 4A’s No. 5 Carencro and No. 9 North Vermilion, Class 2A’s No. 5 Lake Arthur and Class B’s No. 6 Midland.
Two of their three losses were also to quality teams - Class 3A’s No. 5 Jennings and Class 4A’s No. 5 Benton.
Their other loss was to Class 5A Sulphur.