Bossier Press-Tribune Online

It’s been a so-so season so far for Bossier Parish’s high school girls basketball teams.
None of the six have gotten off to a red hot start, but three — Haughton, Benton and Louisiana New Tech at Plain Dealing — have winning records four weeks into the season.
Here’s a look at how each has fared so far and their future prospects.
Benton (8-4): Considering that coach Mary Ward lost all-everything guard Lulu Perry and three other starters to graduation off last year’s District 1-4A championship and state semifinal team, the Lady Tigers’ season so far would have to be considered a success.
Guard Megan Fream, the lone returning starter, has played well as has sophomore post player Gabbey Jackson. Destiney Wallace has also provided some scoring.
The Lady Tigers have a legitimate outside shooting threat in Madi Sessions, who has missed a couple of games because of a back injury.
Benton should be a threat to win another district title. Minden (9-6) and Fair Park (7-4) are the only other teams in the district with winning records.
Airline (6-7): The Lady Vikes suffered a blow when All-Parish guard Madison Raque moved to Kentucky over the summer and took a lot of the team’s scoring ability with her.
But sophomore guard Kei McCoy has shown an ability to score recently, and post players Nikki Bryant and Jasmyn Carswell have also had big games.
What the Lady Vikings need is consistency. They have, however, won two straight after losing five of their previous six.
District champions automatically qualify for the playoffs, but in Airline’s case that’s unlikely because the Lady Vikings play in District 1-5A with perennial power Southwood.
But it won’t be a surprise if Airline finishes in the top half of the standings again. The Lady Vikes will need to get on a roll, though, in order to  improve their power rating and make the playoffs.
Haughton (7-3): The Lady Bucs need only three more victories to match their win total of last season.
One of their losses was to Longview, Texas, which doesn’t figure in the power ratings formula because it is an out-of-state school.
Sophomore Chelcy Swint is one of the parish’s breakout players. She has been a force scoring and rebounding of late.
Mikayla Barber and Ebone’ Green have also been strong contributors.
Haughton has a shot at making the playoffs but, like Airline, the Lady Bucs will need to string together some more wins to improve their power rating.
Bossier (5-7): The Lady Kats have had an up and down season.
Two key starters suffered possible concussions in a loss to Alexandria Senior High and did not play in a lopsided loss to Ouachita Tuesday.
When healthy, though, coach J.C. Dickey’s team has been in every game it’s played. Six of the seven losses have been by single digits.
If Bossier can stay healthy, it can make a run at the playoffs. Winning District 1-3A will be tough with two strong teams — defending state champion Loyola and Green Oaks — to contend with.
Louisiana New Tech at Plain Dealing (6-4): The Lady Lions lost four starters from last season’s 1A state championship team and now start two seventh-graders, so the season so far has gone about as expected.
New Tech has the parish’s top scorer in 2011-12 Class 1A MVP Dennisha Chambers, who is averaging about 35 points per game.
The Lady Lions shouldn’t have much trouble winning District 1-1A, which appears to be weak again. If Chambers stays healthy, and the younger players improve, they could make another deep playoff run.
Parkway (1-13): It’s been a tough season for Coach Aaron Megee.
Star post player Halle Washington, an All-Parish first-team selection last season, suffered an unspecified knee injury in the third game of the season and hasn’t played since.
Another player was suspended for a week and yet another quit the team.
Because of the bad start, Parkway will need to win the 1-5A title to make the playoffs. That’s unlikely even if Washington returns to the form that earned her a scholarship to Georgia because the Lady Panthers would have to beat Southwood.
Still, there’s certainly a chance to salvage the season. If Washington returns, and the team can find a rhythm and win a few games, they could gain some confidence going into district play.