LEBEAU - It was a tale of two halves for both North Central teams against Livonia Tuesday night in a pair of District 6-A contests.

Playing smothering defense in the second half, the Lady Hurricanes forced several turnovers and eventually wore down the visiting Lady Wildcats for a 73-42 victory. In the late game, North Central's boys finished strong to close out the 'Cats, 80-60.

For Coach Vanessa Taylor's Lady Hurricanes, the third quarter made the difference in the game.

Livonia managed to stay close throughout most of the first half, but strong third period performances by Brittany Butler and Apphia Doucet put North Central ahead to stay.

"I thought we were sloppy in the first half," Taylor stated. "My girls came out flat, and Livonia played very well in the first half.

"Brittany Butler's shots were falling tonight and Apphia played well considering she went to the hospital this morning with the flu. She was really only about 50 percent tonight."

Doucet led the way for North Central with 17 points, including two critical three point buckets that helped to deflate the visitors. Butler finished with 15 points.

Key performances were also turned in by Donisha Durisseau who contributed nine steals and nine points, Sharonda Biley who added nine points and Floydiece Washington, seven points.

"Livonia did a good job attacking the boards. Robin Smith did an excellent job rebounding." Taylor commented. "They played us well.

"They weren't going to lay down and let us run over them."

The victory sets up a district showdown Friday evening at Ville Platte High for the Lady Hurricanes.

"We're looking forward to Friday," said Taylor.

"It's tough to win at Ville Platte, but whoever wins takes the lead in the district."

NC 80, Livonia 60

The Hurricanes let the visitors take an early lead in the nightcap, but rebounded for the win.

"We started out slow in the first half," Butch Fontenot allowed. "But once we settled down, good things started to happen."

The Hurricanes took a precarious 34-32 lead into the dressing room at halftime, with Kennard Tanner knocking down a three-pointer to put the home team ahead.

The tempo picked up considerably in the second half, as the home team shook off cold shooting and first half defensive lapses. When Curtis Andrus hit a three-pointer at the 6:05 mark of the third stanza, it put North Central up by four, 42-38.

It was a lead they would doggedly try to maintain throughout the period.

Livonia battled to a 46-46 tie on a turnaround jumper by Quinton Fowler at 1:42, but that was as close as the visitors could get.

"In the fourth quarter, our press took its toll," Fontenot offered. "From there our transition baskets made the difference."

The press did indeed cause problems for the Wildcats.

A key steal by Tanner at the 3:36 mark led to a breakaway bucket and an 11-point lead that mushroomed to the eventual 80-60 bulge.

North Central finished with five players in double figures, and knocked down seven three-point baskets in the contest.

Patrick Aaron paced the Hurricanes with 22 points. Tanner tallied 19, Chris Cane and Joshua Toussaint contributed 12 points each and Andrus finished with 10 points.

"We're looking forward to the game Friday night at Ville Platte High," Fontenot said.

"We're 16-6 overall and 3-0 in district. It should be a good game."