Lady Bengals open season win big win; Moore grabs first coaching victory
The LSU Eunice women's basketball team opened its' 2013-2014 campaign with a strong showing against Mountain View College on Friday night, running away with a 88-26 victory on the road in Dallas.
The Lady Bengals move to 20-1 all-time against Mountain View with the win in a game that was never in doubt.
"Overall, I am pleased with the win and their hustle and effort overall…getting on the floor after loose balls, trying to get to the basket as much as we could," first year head coach Yolanda Moore said after the game.
"Before we made the trip out here, we meet with all the players individually and told them what their roles were on this team. Everybody, of course, bought into it at the time, but you won't know whether or not they did until you actually have apply that to a game. For the most part, everyone went in and did what was expected of them, so I am very pleased with their effort," Moore said.
I feel like I know what I'm doing now," Moore joked about getting her first game (and win) under her belt.
"There's always that pressure of the first game. Now it's out of our system. Even for the team, it's a sigh of relief getting that first game out of the way."
Reagan Maricle scored the opening points of the season, driving through the lane for a layup and drawing the foul, and the Lady Bengals never looked back. In all, 10 players made it into the score book for the visitors – with four tallying double-digit performances.
Taylor Maricle finished with a game-high 15 points, including nine in the first half, while Meghan Cross added 14 points (10 in the second half) of her own. Brooke Richard notched 10 of her 12 total points in the second half, as Baylie Lee totaled eight of her 10 points in the opening frame. Kelsey Thibodeaux scored 10 points, all in the second half, to round out the double-digit scorers.
Taylor Holzmeier finished her first collegiate game with nine points, while Taylor Hurd added eight points to begin her sophomore campaign. Reagan Maricle collected six total points, while Ashlyn Wiemann and Victoria Fontenot each added two points to finish the scoring.
The Lady Bengals never trailed in the contest, leading by as many as 22 in the first half (3 times) before fully blowing the game open in the final stanza, with the lead ballooning higher and higher before reaching the eventual final margin of 62 points.
Through steals and Mountain View missed baskets, the Lady Bengals continually pushed the ball down the floor in the opening half, leading to layups and short jump shots. LSU Eunice took only a handful of three-point attempts, with Taylor Maricle sinking the only made three-pointer of the night midway through the first half.
The Lady Bengals wrap up their opening road trip with an 11 a.m. contest against Mountain View Saturday morning before their home opener comes next Wednesday against Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
