Jones County rallies past Lady Bengals
EUNICE – It was a battle to the end before Jones County Junior College grabbed a 72-63 win over LSU Eunice Monday at the Lady Bengals gym.
LSU Eunice's Becca Brooks drilled a three-pointer to push the Lady Bengals ahead, 53-51 with 7:46 left in the contest.
The Lady Bobcats regained a four- point advantage before LSU Eunice's Morgan Eddleman drove the lane with 4:06 remaining to close the gap to 57-55.
A free throw by Macy Hoffpauir, along with drives in the lane by Brooks and Madelyn LeJeune helped the Lady Bengals keep the game close as the game moved into the final two minutes.
After JCJC's Zan Ratcliffe hit a three three-pointer, Brooks answered with her fifth long-range shot of the game to close the margin to 66-63 before the Lady Bobcats (5-2) sealed the win with a 6-0 run.
The Lady Bengals (2-9) opened the game with a 21-17 first quarter run, sparked by 14 points from Katie Lemeiux who finished with 23 points on the night.
Lemieux converted a three-point play to push LSUE ahead 26-20 early in the second quarter, but Jones responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game with 4:48 left in the half.
Lemieux and Sydney Martin scored on back-to-back drives in the lane and Brooks drained a three-pointer as the Lady Bengals extended their lead to 33-30 before Myyah West and Wendion Bibbens scored to give Jones County a 34-33 advantage at the half.
After the Lady Bobcats moved ahead 38-33 to open the third period, six points from LeJeune, three points by Hoffpauir and a runner by Lemieux helped the home team retake a 45-42 lead with 2:07 left in the quarter.
Bibbin, drove the lane twice late in the period to keep the Lady Bobcats close, but a three-pointer by Brooks (17 points) and two free throws from Eddleman gave the Lady Bengals a 50-46 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Tatyana Lofton scored 13 of her 18 points in the final period, while Indiana State signee Bibbens led the Lady Bobcats with 22 points on the night.
LSU Eunice will entertain Holmes Community College at 5:30 p.m. next Monday as the Lady Bengals homestand continues.
