Lady Bengals fall to Pearl River in Region 23 Tournament
The LSU Eunice women's basketball team fell to Pearl River Community College 84-68 Wednesday night in the opening round of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, ending the most successful season in Lady Bengal program history.
The Lady Bengals finish the season 26-4, including running off a 16-game winning streak, while they also captured the Miss-Lou Conference Championship for the first time as well.
"Obviously we wanted to win. Pearl River did a really good job of executing offensively and making it hard for us to get in rhythm. We got some key people in foul trouble, so that hampered us as well," head coach Yolanda Moore said.
"I want to commend our kids for a wonderful season. They superseded expectations that anyone outside our team had of them. I was very fortunate to coach a group of young ladies hungry for success and willing to put in the work."
On Wednesday night, LSU Eunice took a two-point lead into halftime with Brooke Richard's shot at the buzzer after a back-and-fourth first half that saw both teams go on runs before foul trouble hampered the Lady Bengals in the second half as Pearl River (18-6) pulled away.
They finished the night shooting just 40 percent (27-for-68) from the floor, cooling off in the second stanza after shooting over 50 percent in the first half. LSU Eunice knocked down only five three-point attempts (5-22, 23 percent) as well, and despite hitting all of their free throws, they only went to the line nine times.
Richard led the Lady Bengals with 18 points in her final game, while fellow sophomores Reagan Maricle (17 points) and Taylor Maricle (10 points) also finished in double-figures. Both sisters grabbed four rebounds, while Taylor passed out 11 assists and Reagan tallied six assists of her own.
Sophomore Meghan Cross notched eight points, adding four rebounds, while freshman Taylor Holzmeier and sophomore Baylie Lee each finished with six points. Lee grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and Holzmeier pulled down two rebounds of her own.
Freshman Ashlyn Wiemann tallied five points, adding a pair of rebounds, while redshirt-sophomore Kelsey Thibodeaux finished her final game with two points and a rebound.
Shanta' Echols finished with a game-high 23 points for Pearl River, who also saw Taylor Brister (16 points), Kalisha Washington (12 points) and Deandra Darjean (10 points) finish in double-figures.
