By Nathan Deen
Published on November 21, 2007
After having a week to prepare for Tuesday night’s game against LSU-Eunice, the PJC Lady Pirates came out very sluggish in the first half. PJC committed nine turnovers and shot very poorly from the field. The Lady Pirates found themselves trailing by nine points at halftime.
The second half, however, was as an efficient half as PJC has played all year. The Lady Pirates got hot from the field, rarely missing a shot, and executed extremely well, committing only four turnovers. Trailing 51-36 with 15:07 to play, PJC went on a 10-0 run to pull within five points. PJC tied the game at 53 with 11:47 remaining and took their first lead of the second half just moments later. With the game tied at 60 with 7:53 remaining, PJC went on 15-0 run to pull away, winning by a final score of 80-74.
“We had a very, very poor first half,” said PJC head coach Chanda Rigby. “They showed a lot of courage to come back from behind in the second half.”
LSU-Eunice led through the majority of the first half. PJC stayed within five points of the Lady Bengals until the 3:04 mark when LSU-Eunice closed with an 11-4 run. The Lady Bengals also came out strong in the second half and built a 15-point lead until the rally by PJC. LSU-Eunice head coach Michael Bari said that the difference in the game was his team’s inability to adjust to PJC’s pressure defense, which forced 23 total turnovers.
PJC Sophomore Victoria Hunt and freshmen Sierra Highgate and Nikel White all scored in double figures and had a major impact on the second half comeback. Hunt, virtually scoreless in the first half, exploded with 18 second half points. Hunt also grabbed 6 rebounds. Highgate, also quiet in the first half, had 11 second half points and finished with the game with 14. White had a solid all-around game with 12 points and 5 rebounds. Freshman Angeles Hunter had 9 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.
LSU-Eunice freshman Ariel Dames had a team-high 15 points. Freshman Kayla Armstrong had 14 points, sophomore Jessica Pipkins had 10 points, and sophomore Katelyn Gary had 9 points.
Tuesday night’s game was also PJC’s Staff Appreciation Night in which many faculty members were recognized and treated to a dinner catered by Shirley’s Deli.
PJC (6-2) will travel to Okaloosa Walton in Niceville, Fla. to play in the Lady Raider Classic this upcoming weekend. PJC will play South Georgia Tech on Nov. 30 and Palm Beach Community College on Dec. 1.