Press Release via LSUE Bengals Athletics
MERIDIAN, Ms. – An 18-0 run to begin the game and clutch free throws late helped deliver LSU Eunice Women’s Basketball a 90-87 win at Meridian CC on Thursday in the Region 23/Gulf District Tournament First Round. The Bengals (20-11) were the lone road team to win in first round action in the postseason tournament.
Everything went LSU Eunice’s way to begin the game, racing out to a double-digit lead. The Bengals rolled to an 18-0 advantage to start the night, holding Meridian scoreless for the first 6:30 of the game. Mariah Heard and Simone Clay carried the load in the initial frame. Heard scored all 11 of her points in the first, while Clay added 11 of her 18 points in the quarter.
Meridian would inch closer and closer, setting the stage for a classic back-and-forth second half. LSUE led 40-37 at the half time break and the two sides never separated themselves from a few possessions before a frantic final five minutes.
A putback rebound by the Eagles gave them a 78-75 lead with just under five minutes to go. Ilke Zorlukaya connected on a game-tying three pointer before Kamiera McDonald went coast-to-coast for a go-ahead layup. Ray’Onna Sterling put in a floater, followed by a LSUE forced turnover that resulted in a Bella Henry layup to give the Bengals an 84-79 lead with 2:05 to go.
Meridian stormed back with a 5-0 mini-run that gave the Eagles an 85-84 edge with less than a minute remaining.
That’s when McDonald took over the game and iced it for the Bengals. The freshman would go 6-for-6 at the charity stripe in the final 35 seconds to help put away the Eagles for good. McDonald scored a game-high 28 points, 26 coming after intermission. LSUE would get two key stops in that time span as Zorlukaya grabbed a critical defensive rebound and Henry forced a turnover in the waning seconds.
Sterling was the other Bengal to score in double digits, adding 11 points.
The victory was the Bengals 20th of the season in their first year under head coach Rob Beckmann, the program’s sixth 20-plus win campaign in the school’s history. It was also LSU Eunice’s 13th postseason win and the first in three years.
LSU Eunice will turn its attention to top-seed Pearl River CC for the quarterfinal round on Monday, March 10. The action from Poplarville will begin at 5:30PM at Marvin C. White Coliseum.