Holmes CC surges past Lady Bengals, 66-58
EUNICE - The Lady Bengals fought back from an early deficit against Holmes Community College but the Lady Bulldogs escaped with a 66-58 win over LSU Eunice on Monday.
Tiffany Jones scored seven points and Minyone Hill added a bucket as the Lady Bulldogs (5-2) jumped out to a 9-0 lead before Lady Bengal Madelyn LeJeune scored with 4:03 left in the opening period.
Katie Lemieux later hit two free throws and LeJeune added a baseline shot to close the gap to 12-6.
Lemieux scored on a steal with 1:59 left to pull LSU Eunice within four points before Kawaii Perry scored on a put-back to give Holmes a 14-8 advantage heading into the second quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs pushed ahead 17-8 before Lady Bengal Becca Brooks drilled a three-pointer to pull LSU Eunice closer, 17-11 early in the second frame.
After Jones scored underneath, Sydney Martin drained a three-pointer for LSU Eunice to keep the Lady Bengal fans in the game.
Holmes answered with a 6-0 run before LeJeune hit a free throw and Lemieux scored on an inbounds pass to pull closer at 25-17 with 3:46 left in the half.
A pair of late buckets by Martin helped the Lady Bengals close the gap to 31-21 at intermission.
Holmes began the third quarter with a 9-2 run sandwiched around a drive in the lane by Lemieux.
Brooks drilled a three-pointer and LeJeune later scored on the lane to pull the Lady Bengals closer, 42-28 with 6:35 left in the period.
A 6-0 run by the Lady Bulldogs was stopped by a jumper from LeJeune and bucket off a steal by Macy Hoffpauir as LSU Eunice battled to get back in the contest.
Brooks scored off another steal to close the margin to 50-38 at the end of the third period.
The Lady Bengals battled back into the game with a 13-2 surge to begin the final quarter sparked by six points from Lemieux, five points by Brooks and a baseline shot from LeJeune.
LSU Eunice closed the gap to 525-1 with 4:39 left on the clock, but Holmes then answered with a 5-0 run before Morgan Eddleman and Lemieux helped the Lady Bengals pull within two points with two minutes left.
Holmes sealed the game with a 10-3 run, aided by six free throws to go with buckets from Aja Williams and Laricka Morgan.
Lemieux scored on a lay-up and later added a free throw in the last seconds to finish with 19 points.
Brooks added 13 points, while LeJeune had 11 points and Martin chipped in nine points for the Lady Bengals.
Jones led Holmes with 24 points and Williams finished with 11 points.
LSU Eunice (2-10) will entertain Patrick Henry in a two-game series set for 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.
