Lady Bengals Finish Strong; Look Ahead to Playoffs
It has been an interesting ride for the Lady Bengals in 2009. After a 2-6 start, the worst record the team has seen since Coach Michael Bari took over the program; the Lady Bengals were in some tough times. Something needed to change for the team, and it needed to happen quickly before the window for success shut tight.
After a three hour drive to Houston, the Bengals somehow found their shooting stroke. The ladies hit 10 three pointers, and a season high 62 points in the first half against San Jacinto, all en route to a 99-94 win. Something had finally clicked with this much heralded squad.
A road trip to Arizona, where the team went 3-1, included a record setting performance by freshman Candace Lacombe highlighted the contests. She set three National JUCO records during the game against Glendale Community College. First hitting 21 free throws in 21 attempts, breaking the records for longest streak in a game, and most free throws made in one game. And her consecutive streak lasted until January 2 against Mississippi Gulf Coast, ending at the unbelievable mark of 52 straight, nearly doubling the previous record of 28. But le bons temps, didn’t end there.
After a disappointing defeat to Pensacola Junior College on January 3, The Lady Bengals enjoyed a seven game winning streak, their longest since the previous team long of 11 set in 2007. The young team also scored 100+ points in four of those seven games, and three times before that. To date, they have surpassed the century mark eight times this season, which breaks the previous school record of six by the 2005-2006 team.
After finishing their last four games 2-2 to end the regular season, including their biggest win of the year over Meridian Community College, and their largest loss of the year, by 25 at Jacksonville College, the Lady Bengals face their toughest challenge coming up: a trip to the District B tournament.
The girls must practice blindly as to whom their playoff opponent will be, and they don’t even know where the game will be played. The site will be decided on when the winner of the Region 2 Championship is decided in late February. That team will play host to the second seed in Region 6 out of Kansas and LSUE will face first seed out of Kansas in the two-game tournament which determines who will be off to Peoria, Illinois for the shot at the National Championship.
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