Lady Bengals open conference play with win after tough battle Thursday night
The LSU Eunice women's basketball team opened Miss-Lou Conference play with a back-and-forth battle against Baton Rouge Community College Thursday night, coming away with a 73-67 win.
The No. 23-ranked Lady Bengals improve to 20-1 (1-0 Miss-Lou) with the victory, extending their winning streak to 14 consecutive games.
Down by two points at the half, LSU Eunice stormed back in the second stanza, stealing momentum early in the period before the teams continued to trade baskets down the stretch.
LSU Eunice opened the night on an 8-0 run before Baton Rouge (13-5, 0-1) answered with an eight-point run of their own to tie the game and begin the back-and-forth scoring night, scoring just before the half to take a 29-27 lead into the break.
Overall, the Lady Bengals finished the night shooting 43 percent (24-for-56) and an even 50 percent (6-12) from three-point range, but tallied free throws at a 73 percent clip (19-26), including a 16-for-18 effort at the stripe in the second half.
"The key for us was maintaining or composure and doing what we needed to do. This is what we expect in conference play. We have to see (every conference team) three times, so this is just preparation for going on the road," head coach Yolanda Moore said.
"I think we did a really good job playing through contact, not getting frustrated and having a 'next play' mentality. It was a fun game for them, and I am so happy we were able to come out with a win."
After seeing only three players tally points in the first half, LSU Eunice finished with eight players in the scoring column, led by sophomore Reagan Maricle's 22 points. She added four assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals to fill her statline.
Sophomore Brooke Richard collected 15 points, while fellow sophomore Meghan Cross finished with a double-double after notching 12 points and 10 rebounds, adding a pair of steals.
Taylor Maricle notched seven points, all in the second half, while grabbing 12 rebounds (11 defensive), passing out seven assists, five steals and a block while playing all 40 minutes of action.
Freshmen Taylor Holzmeier and Ashlyn Wiemann each totaled six points, all in the second half, as Holzmeier (two rebounds) tallied all her points at the free throw line and Wiemann (one rebound) used a pair of threes to help keep momentum on the Lady Bengals' side.
Kelsey Thibodeaux rounded out the Lady Bengal scoring, finishing with five points while grabbing a pair of rebounds.
Baton Rouge saw three players finish in double figures, led by Ashley Williams' 22 points, while Rosa Bryant finished with 17 points and Kasiney Williams added 12 points.
LSU Eunice continues conference play on Saturday afternoon, when they hit the road to take on Southern University-Shreveport in a 2 p.m. contest. Saturday's game can be heard on KVPI 92.5 FM.
