EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice Women's Basketball put an exclamation point on a dominant conference campaign, capturing the program's second straight LCCAC regular season championship with a 67-58 win over Baton Rouge CC on Saturday. The Bengals (21-6, 8-0 LCCAC) claimed the school's seventh state title in program history.
LSUE earns an automatic berth into the Region 23 Tournament as the official Louisiana representative. The Bengals will play in first round action on Thursday, March 5 with opponent and location to be announced later.
The Bengals honored their two sophomores –
Kamiera McDonald (Baton Rouge, LA, Scotlandville HS) and
Izabella Henry (Hornbeck, LA, Anacoco HS) – and the pair put on a show for the several family and friends in attendance. McDonald helped jump start LSUE with 11 first half points as LSUE built a double-digit lead through the first two quarters
The Bengals and Bears are rivals for a reason, however, and BRCC would not secede the LCCAC crown without a fight. Baton Rouge clawed back in the third quarter, outscoring LSUE 24-15, taking its first lead since the opening basket of the game with 1:52 left in the quarter. The Bengals would show their championship resolve, answering each time Baton Rouge threw something at them.
After BRCC tied the game 51-51 with 8:30 left to play,
Aryanna Ridgeway (Nashville, TN, Ezell Harding Christian School) helped the Bengals regain the lead with two free throws – a lead they would not give up the rest of the afternoon. Bella Henry gave the Bengals a little cushion, knocking down a three pointer and then delivering a beautiful bounce pass to Ridgeway under the basket to make it 58-54 LSUE with 5:27 to play.
Edurne Diaz de la Serna Munoz (Ripollet, Spain, Institut Palau Ausit) took the Bengals home, connecting on a floater and three free throws to push their lead to 62-56 in the final minutes.
Paulina Reichenauer (Waiblingen, Germany, Salier Gymnasium) led LSUE with 17 points while Henry finished just on the edge of double-digit points with nine.
The Bengals close out the regular season on Wednesday with a home date against Southern-Shreveport. Tip-off from the HPRE Center is set for 6:00PM.
