Yellow Jackets down EHS, Bobcats split games in LA tourney

The Eunice High School Lady Bobcats showed much improvement against the Iowa High School Yellow Jackets from their contest earlier this season, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Lady Jackets from finding a way to win in basketball action Monday evening at the Bobcat gym.
Coach Wayne Fontenot’s Lady Bobcats dropped a 65-33 decision to the Lady Jackets earlier in the season, but the Lady Bobcats showed how much they have improved since that time by leading 33-24 at halftime before falling to the Lady Jackets by a 59-50 margin.
The Lady Bobcats used a 19-13 advantage in the first quarter to take the early lead.
Shay Vigers drove the lane and Stacie White added a trey to push the Lady Cats to a 5-3 advantage.
Asia Ledet hit a three-pointer and Alicia Ceaser scored in the lane as the Lady Cats pushed ahead, 14-9.
A put-back by Vigers and a trey at the buzzer by Shania Malveaux increased the Lady Cats’ lead to six points as the game moved to the second period.
White and Vigers topped the scoring for the Lady Cats with five and four points, respectively.
The Lady Cats got the best of the Lady Jackets in the second quarter as well by a 14-11 margin for the halftime lead.
Two free throws by White, a put-back from Ceaser combined with a drive in the lane by Malveaux pushed the Lady Cats ahead, 25-19 midway through the second period.
Ledet drilled a trey and White scored inside to increase Eunice’s lead to 31-21, while Vigers added a second-chance bucket in the closing seconds of the half.
Iowa’s Danae Williams hit a free throw with one second left to close the Lady Cats’ lead to nine points.
White and Alicia Ceasar led the Lady Cats in that quarter with four and three points, respectively.
The tide began to turn against the Lady Cats in the third quarter as Iowa would rally to outscore Eunice by an 18-8 margin.
The Lady Jackets opened the third period with a 12-1 run as Iowa grabbed a 36-34 lead.
Vigers drove the lane to tie the game at the 3:47 mark as the two teams battled for control of the game.
Back-to-back buckets and a free throw by Vigers gave the Lady Cats a 41-38 advantage, but Iowa retook a slim lead when Arianna Dargin scored off a steal and Bethany Broussard pushed in a bucket underneath for a 42-41 advantage.
The Lady Yellow Jackets were led in scoring by Aasia Sam and Danas Williams with six points apiece.
Dargin would help the Lady Jackets maintain the lead by scoring eight points to in the final period as Iowa overwhelmed the Lady Bobcats by a 17-9 margin.
White hit a free throw and an inside bucket early in the period, while Malveaux later added two more free throws as the Lady Cats fought to keep a 46-44 lead.
A 4-0 run by Iowa was answered by a jumper by Vigers to force a 48-48 tie.
The Yellow Jackets then went on a 7-0 run to push ahead, 55-48.
Ceasar scored on a put-back bucket to close the gap to 55-50 with 1:23 left, but the Lady Cats could not get any closer.
Dargin finished the game with 21 points to lead the Lady Jackets in scoring. Williams added 14 and Bethany Broussard had 13 for Iowa.
Vigers led the Lady Cats with 15 points. White added 12 points and Ceasar had 10, with Shania Malveaux scoring seven and Aisha Ledet chipped in with six points.
Eunice returns to action on Jan. 8 with the District 5-3A opener at Port Barre.

LAKE ARTHUR – The Eunice High Bobcats claimed victories over Lake Arthur and Elton to finish 2-2 in four games at the Lake Arthur Basketball Tournament held this week.
Coach Chad Andrepont’s Bobcats, now 12-6 overall, dropped decisions to Jennings and Iowa on the first day of the tournament, but came back to post wins against Lake Arthur and Elton on Monday and Tuesday to salvage a split in the tournament.
In the victory over Lake Arthur, the Cats jumped out to a 14-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. Kevin Williams had eight points to lead the Bobcats in the quarter. The Cats outscored the Tigers by a 21-18 margin in the second quarter for a 35-23 advantage at the half. Williams nailed three 3-point goals to top the Cats in the quarter with nine points.
The Tigers roared back in the third quarter to outscore the Cats by a 22-16 margin to cut the Eunice lead to 51-45 heading into the fourth quarter. But the Cats held off the Tigers in the fourth quarter with a 14-10 advantage to post the 65-55 victory.
Williams led the Bobcats in scoring against the Tigers with 23 points, including five 3-point field goals. Malik Poullard added 11 points, while Terreyll Poullard, Halen Jack, and Deshawn Vigers contributed six points apiece for the Cats. Torrell Levias led the Tigers with 16 points.
In Tuesday’s win over Elton, the Indians and the Cats tied 21-21 at the end of the first quarter. But the Bobcats began to pull away with a 22-16 advantage in the second quarter for a 43-37 edge at the half. Mitchell Cormier led the Cats in scoring with 10 points in the quarter.
The Cats took control of the game in the third quarter with a 25-16 advantage. Malik Poullard had 11 points in that quarter as he hit three 3-point goals and hit both of his free throws. The Cats claimed the win by outscoring the Indians 16-15 in the final quarter for the 84-68 victory.
Malik Poullard led the Eunice scoring for the game with 24 points. Williams added 17 and Cormier 13 for the Cats. Dorian Hayes led Elton with 22 points.
In the 71-61 loss to Jennings, the Cats started strong with a 15-7 lead after one quarter. But the Bulldogs turned the tables on the Cats in the second quarter with a 15-7 advantage to tie the game at 22-22 at the half. Jennings pulled away in the third quarter with a 26-15 advantage, and sealed the win despite the Cats winning the quarter by a 24-23 margin.
Halen Jack led the Cats in scoring with 19 points. Malik Poullard and Travis Godfrey added nine points apiece for the Cats. Dewayne Levi led the Bulldogs with 25 points.
In the 60-58 loss to Iowa, the Yellow Jackets took control in the early going with an 18-4 advantage in the opening quarter. The Cats got back into the game by outscoring Iowa 21-13 in the second quarter to trail 31-25 at the half. The Cats closed the gap a bit further with an 18-15 advantage in the third quarter. The Indians held on in the fourth quarter to take the two-point win.
Cormier and Godfrey led the Bobcat scoring with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Malik Poullard and Williams added 10 points apiece. Kaylan Fontenot led Iowa with 22 points.
The Bobcats are scheduled to travel to Rayne on Tuesday.