Lady Cats open parish tourney with win

PRAIRIE RONDE - No. 3 seed Eunice opened the 2015 St. Landry Parish basketball tournament with a strong statement as the Lady Cats rolled to a 49-25 win over Opelousas High.
Eunice jumped out to a 14-4 first quarter lead, sparked by six points from Shay Vigers.
Shania Malveaux added back-to-back drives for the Lady Cats, while Stacie White closed the quarter with a second-chance bucket.
Just like the first quarter, the Lady Tigers scored first but the Lady Cats responded with a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach at intermission.
Five points from White and six points by Asia Ledet combined with buckets from Vigers and Mia LeJeuene helped the Lady Cats take a 29-8 advantage into the break.
Eunice opened the third period with a 10-2 run, sparked by back-to-back treys from White and Vigers.
The Lady Tigers pushed in points from Tyriana Joseph and Shavon Manuel to close the gap to 39-14, but the Lady Cats answered with a 5-2 run to finish the period including three points from White and a drive in the lane by Malveaux.
Eunice moved ahead 47-16 early in the fourth quarter when Vigers scored on an inbounds pass and Alicia Ceaser later added a free throw.
OHS mounted a late surge with a 7-2 run, led by four points from Manuel to close the final margin to 24 points.
White and Vigers each scored 17 points to lead the Lady Cats, while Manuel scored 10 points for OHS.
Beau Chene 44, Eunice 37
The Lady Bobcats fell to the Beau Chene Lady Gators by a 44-37 margin in Thursday action in the parish tournament.
The Lady Bobcats, who fell to 6-7 overall with the loss, stayed with the Lady Gators in the opening quarter, trailing 14-13 heading into the second quarter.
White scored five points on two field goals and Malveaux added four points on two field goals to lead the Lady Cats in the quarter.
Helena Tibbs scored all 14 points for the Lady Gators.
The Lady Cats hit a lull in the second quarter, scoring only three points on a 3-point field goal from Skylar Ardoin.
The Lady Gators scored nine points, led by Kera Mouton with four points, to take a 23-16 lead into halftime.
Eunice High closed the gap in the third quarter, outscoring Beau Chene by a 14-11 margin to cut the lead to 32-30 heading into the fourth quarter.
White sank two 3-point field goals to lead the Lady Cats, while Ledet and Malveaux each sank a three-point goal and Lejeune hit one two-point goal in the quarter.
Tibbs led the Lady Gators with seven points in the quarter.
But the Lady Cats were unable to carry over their momentum into the fourth quarter.
Led by Mouton’s five points and four points from Tibbs, the Lady Gators held off the Lady Cats by a 12-7 margin to claim the victory.
White and Ledet each had a field goal, with Malveaux hitting two free throws and Lejeune made one of two from the line.
White led the Lady Bobcats in scoring with 13 points. Malveaux and Ledet added nine and five points, respectively, for the Lady Cats. Ardoin and Lejeune had three points apiece, while Shay Vigers finished with two points.
Eunice concluded the parish tournament Saturday in the Consolation Finals.
Next action for the Lady Cats is at 5 p.m. Tuesday when they entertain Northside Lady Vikings.