BATON ROUGE, La. – A strong fourth quarter finish helped LSU Eunice push past Illinois Central, 84-66, to open the season with a win at the Lady Bear Classic in Baton Rouge.  It was the Bengals' first win under first year head coach Jaime Gonzales.
 
The Bengals went back-and-forth with the Cougars for the first three quarters, holding a slim 55-51 advantage going into the final frame.  Ke'Maesha St. Andre (Oakdale, LA, Oakdale HS) shined in the fourth, scoring 13 of the team's 29 points in the quarter.  The freshman tallied 15 point in her Bengal debut.
 
The Bengals sophomore backcourt duo of Ava Jones (Carencro, LA, Carencro HS) and Le'Shenae Stubblefield (Delhi, LA, Delhi HS) carried the offensive load for LSUE, combining for 40 points.  Jones led LSUE with 26 points on the night, including 20 in the first half alone to help the Bengals hold a 39-37 edge at intermission.
 
Claralee Richard (Sulphur, LA, Sulphur HS )was the other Bengal in double figures, pouring in 14 points on the evening.
 
LSUE continues play in the Lady Bear classic tomorrow with an 11:00am tip-off against Pensacola Junior College.