NEW ORLEANS, La. – LSU Eunice Women's Basketball began their LCCAC title defense in impressive fashion, cruising past Delgado CC 80-58 on the road on Wednesday.  The win gave head coach Rob Beckmann his 50th career victory, 34 of them coming with the Bengals (14-6, 1-0 LCCAC).
 
LSUE led wire-to-wire, using a pair of offensive quarters in the first half to push past Delgado.  The Bengals turned the game in their favor for good with a 17-3 run that took up the first half of the second quarter.  Edurne Diaz de la Serna Munoz (Ripollet, Spain, Institut Palau Ausit) would hit a triple to begin the frame and end the spurt with a layup to give LSUE a 46-28 advantage with 5:31 to go before halftime.  The Bengals would lead the Dolphins 58-35 at intermission, building as large as a 26-point lead in the quarter.
 
A defensive second half, neither team would score more than 16 points in a quarter.
 
Diaz led all scorers with 21 points in 33 minutes of action.  The freshman would go 10-for-17 from the field.  Kamiera McDonald (Baton Rouge, LA, Scotlandville HS) enjoyed a 19-point night off the bench, leading the team from the free throw line with a 10-for-12 performance from the charity stripe.
 
Paulina Reichenauer (Waiblingen, Germany, Salier Gymnasium) and Aryanna Ridgeway (Nashville, TN, Ezell Harding Christian School) also added double digit point nights, collecting 14 and 12 points respectively.  Saidastiny Stewart (Baton Rouge, LA, Dulles HS (TX)) and JoAnna Mawae (Leesville, LA, Anacoco HS) led the Bengals on the glass, each collecting eight rebounds.
 
LSUE's defense again played a pivotal role in the victory, forcing 27 turnovers including 20 steals.  Delgado was held to 22-for-66 (33.3%) from the field and just 4-for-22 (18.2%) from three-point range.
 
The Bengals kick off a three-game conference homestand on Saturday with Baton Rouge CC in town.  The action from the HPRE Center gets underway at 2:30PM.