2022 Select State Championship Predictions
It's been a great year of basketball here in Louisiana as things are coming to an end on another great season. We've got a ton of quarterfinal action taking place tonight for the non-select schools but our focus will be on the select state championships as we're down to only five games left! It's championship weekend as over the next two days the LHSAA will crown five new state champions and without future ado lets get to some predictions, keys and players to watch out for.... we have several familiar teams and familiar faces as many of the teams are back in the hunt from last year!
Division I State Championship Game
#1 John Curtis vs #3 McKinley
Date: February 25th, 2022
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Alario Center - New Orleans, LA
Key Players to Watch:
John Curtis
2024 Terren Coffil - Ranked #2
2024 Heaven Jordan - Ranked #5
2026 Chikae Desdunes - Middle School Watch List
2026 Ke'Sonja Nelson - Middle School Watch List
McKinley
2024 - Ty'Reona Sibley - Ranked #21
2024 - Gabrielle Lathers - Ranked #19
2025 - Paige Hawkins - Ranked #20
2025 - Miyanah Booker - Honorable Mention
Prediction: John Curtis
Just take a second and look at all the talented young players that will be in this game... This could be a match up that we see for years to come and is certain to be a great game on Friday night! I'm excited to see how McKinley handles the pressure that John Curtis is able to put on them with the man to man defense. I believe John Curtis has enough guard play to break McKinley's press but they will certainly have to shoot better from the field than they did tonight to come up with a victory. John Curtis pulls it out to win a sixth straight state championship!!!
Division II State Championship Game
#1 St. Louis vs #3 St. Thomas More
Date: February 24th, 2022
Time: 5:15 pm
Location: Alario Center - New Orleans, LA
Key Players to Watch:
St. Louis
2022 Myca Trail - Ranked #3 - ULM Signee
2023 Paris Guillory - Ranked #2
2023 Gabbie Link - Honorable Mention
St. Thomas More
2023 AC Froehlich - Ranked #28
2022 Sophie Perkins - Ranked #64
2022 Izzy Carter - Honorable Mention
Prediction: St. Louis Catholic
St. Louis will be the clear favorite in this one but a rematch of last years semifinal matchup that came down to a 7 point game could be closer than some would expect! Both top players for each team played extremely well in the semifinals therefore it'll be a test of who can slow down the opponent. STM is going to have to hit several 3pt shots in order to keep pace in this one but I believe St. Louis' Trail and Guillory will be too much and St. Louis Catholic will claim its second state championship winning back to back!
Division III State Championship Game
#1 Lafayette Christian Academy vs. #2 Episcopal
Date: February 25th, 2022
Time: 4:30 pm
Location: Alario Center - New Orleans, LA
Key Players to Watch:
Lafayette Christian Academy
2024 Jada Richard - Ranked #1
2022 Monae Duffy - Honorable Mention
2024 Eve Alexander - Ranked #10
2024 Indeara Hebert - Ranked #30
2025 Taelyn Taylor - Honorable Mention
Episcopal
2022 Izzy Besselman - Ranked #24 - LSU Walk-On
Prediction: Lafayette Christian Academy
Another year and another year of LCA in the state championship game after a dominate performance over St. Thomas Aquinas the Knights of Episcopal will have their hands full tomorrow night. Episcopal has made history with its first trip to the state championship but they still have some fight in them and will keep it close early before LCA pulls away as Jada Richard is playing at another level right now!
Division IV State Championship Game
#5 Southern Lab vs #2 Cedar Creek
Date: February 24th, 2022
Time: 2:30 pm
Location: Alario Center - New Orleans, LA
Key Players to Watch: