Comeback win pushes visiting Lady Bengals over Faulkner State
The LSU Eunice women's basketball team used a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to seal a comeback, 65-64 road win over Faulkner State Community College on Thursday night.
The Lady Bengals, who trailed the entire first half and were down by eight at halftime, took their first lead with just over 12 minutes remaining before the two teams traded scores for the remainder of the contest.
Up by one point with 21.2 seconds remaining, sophomore Reagan Maricle knocked down a pair of free throws to give LSU Eunice a three-point lead. Faulkner State's final second three-point attempt was off the mark before a harmless put-back layup at the buzzer gave the Lady Bengals the one-point win.
The victory pushed the Lady Bengals' winning streak out to 12 games, but gave them their toughest test in recent contests.
LSU Eunice (18-1) scored the opening point on a free throw nearly three minutes into the action before Faulkner State (8-7) took the lead and held onto the advantage into the second half. The Lady Bengals used a 14-5 run to open the final stanza to take the lead before holding Faulkner State scoreless for a nearly three minute stretch in the final five minutes to put some cushion in their lead.
Sophomore Meghan Cross led all scorers with 18 points in the win, scoring 10 in the second half, including going 5-for-7 at the free throw line in the final stanza. Freshman Taylor Holzmeier was the only other Lady Bengal in double figures, notching 12 points off the bench.
A trio of sophomores all finished with eight points – Taylor Maricle, Reagan Maricle and Brooke Richard – with each tallying their points in different fashions.
Taylor Maricle hit a pair of three-pointers to help change momentum in the second half, while Richard scored all eight of her points during the second half comeback. In addition to the clinching free throws, Reagan Maricle notched her eight points while directing the offense.
Freshman Ashlyn Wiemann finished with six points off a pair of her own three-point baskets during the second half comeback, while sophomore Baylie Lee finished with four points to round out the Lady Bengal scoring.
Tierra Henry finished with 17 points to lead Faulkner State, who also received 11 points from mary Robinson in the loss.
The Lady Bengals and Faulkner State will matchup again next week in the backend of the home-and-home series, with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. next Saturday, January 25 in Eunice.
Next Saturday's game can be seen on Bengal All-Access and heard on KVPI 92.5 FM.
