EUNICE, La. – Jakera Ducksworth poured in a career-high 25 points, Bre'yanna Blount posted a double-double and Jones College held off a pesky LSU Eunice squad for an 81-74 victory Friday night in the Bobcats' season-opener at the HPRE Center.
Jones led by 10 after the opening quarter and by as many as 15 late in the third, but the Bengals used 11 3-pointers to hang around throughout the night and keep the Bobcats from pulling away.
Ducksworth, who scored 22 points in the Bobcats' last visit to Eunice in January, picked up right where she left off. The sophomore finished 6-of-11 from the floor, knocked down all three of her 3-point attempts and went 10-for-11 at the free throw line. She added six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 35 minutes.
Blount added 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in her Jones debut, while Rachael Nyamesah provided a spark off the bench with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting and a 5-for-6 effort at the charity stripe.
Nailah Herrera rounded out the Bobcats' double-figure scorers with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Jones came out firing in the opening quarter, outscoring LSU Eunice 26-16 to build an early double-digit advantage. Ducksworth had 10 first quarter points and Blount six.
The Bengals, however, refused to go away.
LSU Eunice outscored Jones 21-18 in the second quarter to trim the Bobcats' lead to 44-37 at halftime.
The teams continued to trade baskets in the second half, with Jones holding a slim advantage in the third quarter to take a 63-55 lead into the final 10 minutes.
LSU Eunice outscored Jones 19-18 in the fourth, but the Bobcats did enough to preserve the seven-point victory and open the season on a winning note.
Jones shot 46 percent from the field and connected on 5-of-16 attempts from beyond the arc. The Bobcats were especially effective at the free throw line, converting 26-of-31 attempts.
Jones also pulled down 48 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive glass.
Ashley Martinez contributed eight points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals, while Cambry Shannon was perfect from the floor, going 3-for-3 for seven points and four rebounds.
Na'kenya Terry chipped in five points, three assists and two steals, and Hannah Jones added seven rebounds and two points in 12 minutes off the bench.
Reesie Jinks led LSUE with 28 and Edurne Diaz de la Serna Munoz added 16. LSUE shot 36 percent from the floor.
Jones avenged an 86-83 loss to LSU Eunice in its previous trip to the HPRE Center on Jan. 8, when the Bengals hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Despite committing 26 turnovers in Friday's opener, the Bobcats overcame the miscues with balanced scoring, strong rebounding and efficient free throw shooting to secure their first win of the season.
Jones goes to Marianna, Florida, Nov. 6-7 to face host and No. 4 Chipola and No. 8 Gulf Coast State in the Chipola Classic.
