CLINTON, Miss. – LSU Eunice went toe-to-toe with No. 10 Jones College in the Region 23 Semifinals, falling short 84-72 on Thursday at A.E. Wood Coliseum.  The Bengals finish their first season under head coach Jaime Gonzales 21-7.
 
LSUE used a career-high 30 points from Alona Washington (Gonzales, LA, Ascension Christian HS) to keep pace with the high-scoring Bobcats, as the Bengals shot 50 percent (18-for-36) from the field in the first half to take a 47-45 lead into intermission. The 30-point outburst marked consecutive games that Washington set a new personal best for points.
 
Both teams started red hot from the field, each shooting 10-for-19 (52.6%) in the first quarter.  Washington carried the load for LSUE, bucketing 11 points in the first frame.  LSU Eunice used a 13-2 run in the second quarter to not only take the lead, but also hold an eight-point edge, 45-37.  Ava Jones (Carencro, LA, Carencro HS) scored 8 of her 19 points in that span.   
 
That lead would not last for long as the duo of Destiny Haymer and Jatyjia Jones would help the Bobcats regain the lead for good in the third quarter.  Haymer paced Jones with a triple-double, going for 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.  Jones meanwhile scored a team-high 23 points.
 
The magic would run out for the Bengals in the final frame as the team shot just 3-for-16 from the field in the fourth quarter as the Bobcats were able to separate themselves.
 
Claralee Richard (Sulphur, LA, Sulphur HS) tallied her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds in her final game as a Bengal.  Fellow sophomore Le'Shenae Stubblefield (Delhi, LA, Delhi HS) and Miya McKinney (Ville Platte, LA, Ville Platte HS) played key roles on the night, scoring 9 and 8 points respectively.
 
Ava Jones caps off her LSUE career as the sixth leading scorer in program history, tallying 655 points.

 Jones College advances to play in the Region 23 Championship game against Northwest Mississippi on Friday at 5:00PM.