Lady Bengals Win State Championship
Steven Bari
NEW ORLEANS – The LSU-Eunice Lady Bengals Basketball team extended their winning streak to four when they edged the Southern University-Shreveport Jaguars 45-42 in the finals of the Louisiana Athletic Association of Community College’s State Championship held at Delgado Community College.
The Lady Bengals (17-7) have captured their second straight State title, both times defeating Southern-Shreveport.
Sophomore Chelsie Guillory of Lafayette led the team with 15 points, followed by Kayla Armstrong and Danielle Morgan with nine points each.
The Bengals struggled with their shooting efficiency in the first half, converting only 23 percent from the field, but rallied in the second half shooting a more respectable 31 percent.
The Bengals led for much of the second half, but clutch three point shooting by the Jaguars’ Shannon Wright kept the game to a one point margin.
With 13 seconds remaining, Armstrong was fouled by Shreveport’s Tikandis Edwards giving the team captain a one-and-one free throw opportunity. The sophomore from Denham Springs nailed both shots, finalizing the win.
The 45 team points scored is a record low under the tutelage of Coach Michael Bari.
“I was really proud of how we played defense tonight, we executed our game plan, and that ended up being the key to the game,” said Bari. “We played with a lot of heart, and that’s the reason we won.”
Armstrong and Guillory were named to the All-State team and Guillory won the Most Valuable Player Award.
The Lady Bengals will finish their regular season campaign on a three game road trip, starting with Arkansas Baptist on February 26 in Little Rock.
