Lady Lions finish 3rd overall in MAIS Class 4A

All season, University Academy has been behind the eight-ball but managed to find a way to win.

The Lady Lions closed their season Monday when they earned a third place finish in the MAIS Class 4A overall championship tournament.

Led by seniors Jada Swafford and Lauren Rachel, UA finished its season with a 31-10 record and kept pace with most of the top teams in its class.

"I think we had a very successful and enjoyable season," Lady Lions assistant Craig Whittington said. "They gave us everything that we had. We only had 12 (players) on our team this year and we were playing a lot of schools and well-established programs, so the competition was no comparison to what we played last year in 1A."

University qualified for the tournament after finishing fourth in the Division II tournament Sept. 28 and opened up with back-to-back wins against Parklane and Oak Forest — two of the tougher teams in Class 4A.

However, the Lady Lions lost to Hillcrest and Parklane to finish third, but Whittington mentioned that they had a successful season given the competition they played against.

"Before I was able to get (coach) Meagan (Pearson) back, I tried to schedule as many of the LHSAA teams I could get in the month of June and July," Whittngton said. "Also once our regular season started, we played against five district teams that were in the top 10 all year. Our district prepared us for this. It was loaded and very competitive."

Swafford and Rachel were named to the Class 4A South All-Star team as seniors. While UA will miss their production next season, the team will return six of its nine starters.

"I think they did a good job in guiding this team, taking the younger kids and putting them on their shoulders," Whittington said. "One advantage that we have is that the kids have a good bond with each other with all the traveling that we do. Our team was well-bonded and had really good unity. They all had each other's back."

With University pondering whether or not to apply to the LHSAA and play against schools the same size again, it has a strong foundation with Pearson leading the team.

"I think the most of Meagan," Whittington said. "I think we have one of the best coaches around in Central Louisiana. She's very demanding and the kids love her. She has Division I coaching experience and she's coached in this area. I felt that was the missing piece because we had the other pieces in place."