LSUE sweeps Fort Scott

The LSU Eunice women’s basketball team ran out to a fast start for the second consecutive day on Sunday, having no problem against visiting Fort Scott Community College as the Lady Bengals grabbed a 78-42 victory.
LSU Eunice improves to 15-1 with the win, keyed by the fast start that saw sophomore Meghan Cross account for 15 of the team’s first 17 points as she finished with a game-high 27 points.
“We played really well as a team. We had a lot of players make good passes. Everyone also ran the floor well, played good defense and got rebounds to we could get out running again,” Cross said.
“Meghan did a really good job of finding her spot in the high post and taking those opportunities,” head coach Yolanda Moore said.
“We got contributions from everyone tonight. That’s what we want going into conference play,” Moore added.
The Lady Bengal bench pitched in for a good portion of the offense for the second consecutive night, collecting 29 points a day after scoring 41 points.
“Everyone has to be ready. We never know when they’ll have to step up in a big game for us, but they are ready and their confidence is there,” Moore added about her team’s bench production.
Overall, the Lady Bengals saw 10 different players score in the victory, finishing the afternoon shooting 45 percent (29-for-64) from the floor. They shot free throws at a 52 percent (15-29) clip and added a lone three-point basket (1-8. 13 percent) as well.
In the first half, the Lady Bengals knocked down 50 percent of their shots as they jumped out to a big lead helped for the second straight night by their pressure defense. LSU Eunice took a 28 point lead into halftime, growing the lead to as high as 38 before the final margin of victory.
Cross tallied 21 of her 27 points in the opening stanza, adding four rebounds, a pair of steals and an assist to her statline. Fellow sophomore Brooke Richard notched 10 points of her own while grabbing five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Freshman Taylor Holzmeier contributed nine points off the bench for the Lady Bengals, adding a game-high 10 rebounds and a block as well. She also finished with four steals. Fellow freshman Meghan Knight tallied eight points (4 rebounds, 2 steals) of her own, while Ashlyn Wiemann notched six points to go along with her eight rebounds.
Sophomores Reagan Maricle and Baylie Lee each finished with five points, as Maricle filled her statline with seven steams, five assists and four rebounds. Lee added a pair of rebounds, a block and a steal.
Kelsey Thibodeaux notched four points off the bench, adding seven rebounds, a steal and an assist. Sophomore Taylor Maricle and freshman McKayla Willie each added two points, with Maricle passing out a game-high 12 assists along with seven steals and four rebounds.
The Lady Bengals are back in action on Friday and Saturday when they welcome Patrick Henry Community College to town. Friday’s tipoff is set for 6 p.m., while Saturday’s game is a 2 p.m. start time.

LSUE 78, Fort Scott 35
The LSU Eunice women’s basketball team had no trouble taking care of visiting Fort Scott Community College on Saturday afternoon, pulling away with a 78-35 victory.
The win moves the Lady Bengals to 14-1 this season, giving them the best 15-game start in program history, eclipsing the 13-2 start by the 2006-07 squad.
Saturday’s game was never in doubt, with LSU Eunice jumping out to a 12-0 lead in the opening five minutes before taking a 30 point lead into the break. They used a 16-4 run to open the second half before growing the lead to as high as 43 twice, including the final margin.
“We came out very focused tonight. They were able to establish a strong presence on the defensive end.
Overall, the Lady Bengals shot 51 percent (30-for-59) from the field in the win, adding three point baskets at a 45 percent (5-11) clip and knocking down 73 percent (11-15) of their attempts from the free throw line.
Freshman Ashlyn Wiemann led the way with 21 points off the bench, as the Lady Bengals saw their bench notch 41 combined points through seven players.
“Ashlyn came in and hit some big shots. We challenged her a little bit earlier in the season to step up and get her shot going and find her openings and rhythm,” Moore said.
“Our starters set the bar high starting off with that 12-0 run, and it was important for us coming off the bench to keep up that pace, knock down shots and rebound,” Wiemann added.
Wiemann added two rebounds, an assist and a block as well.
Sophomore Meghan Cross was the only other LSU Eunice player to finish in double figures, finishing with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Reagan Maricle added nine points along with eight assists, five steals, three rebounds and a block to fill her statline, while fellow sophomore Brooke Richard notched seven points of her own to go along with four rebounds and an assist.
Taylor Holzmeier added seven points off the bench, as the freshman also grabbed five rebounds and added a steal and a block. Baylie Lee finished with six points and three assists, while Meghan Knight tallied five points and six rebounds off the bench as well.
Kelsey Thibodeaux added four points and five rebounds, Victoria Fontenot finished with three points and Taylor Maricle notched two points, four steals, two rebounds and two assists.