HAMMOND — Top-seeded Lafayette Christian Academy continued its dominance Friday night, capturing its fifth consecutive state championship with a decisive 67-28 win over Sacred Heart of New Orleans.
The Knights set the tone early, jumping out to a 19-4 lead after the first quarter and never looking back. They extended their advantage to 36-17 at halftime and widened the gap to 53-23 by the end of the third quarter.
Four LCA players scored in double figures, led by Kaliyah Samuels, who earned Outstanding Player of the Game honors with 22 points and seven rebounds.
“We start off coming into the season as everybody zero and zero,” Samuels said. “No matter if [we] win, we’re still 0-0, and we just build up off that. We push each other in practice and everywhere we are to be better, so that nobody could just think that it's given to us, and then we gotta earn it.”
Head coach Errol Rogers echoed that mindset, emphasizing the team’s competitive drive.
“You know, people texting me, ‘Oh, man, you gonna win by this? You gonna win by that?’ No, we're not. We got to play basketball,” Rogers said. “We go out there. We go compete. We gonna compete so that we can win.”
Taelyn Taylor, who finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, reflected on the Knights’ sustained success.
“We do really [work] hard. Everybody plays their part,” Taylor said. “That’s how we win five state championships in a row. It’s amazing because not a lot of people accomplish that. Each year it just gets easier and easier. So I just knew that this year I was like, ‘Yeah, I want five.’”
The championship victory capped another dominant season for LCA, which finished with a 29-5 overall record.
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