Third annual Lady Bengal Classic tips off Friday

By Steven Bari
Sports Correspondent

The LSU at Eunice Lady Bengals will open their 2008-09 campaign Friday as part of their third annual Lady Bengal Fall Classic Tournament.
The tournament will feature four premier NJCAA women’s teams, including San Jacinto College of Houston, Texas, Andrew College of Cuthbert, Georgia, and Southwest Tennessee Community College of Nashville, Tennessee.
The tournament tips off at 6 p.m. with a contest between the San Jacinto College Gators and Southwest Tennessee Saluqis.
Competition will conclude with the Lady Bengals facing the Andrew College Tigers at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, Nov. 1st, the tournament will conclude as the teams swap opponents, as San Jacinto will take on Andrew at 2 p.m, and LSUE will play Southwest Tennessee at 4 p.m.
Here is a breakdown of each of the teams in the tournament:

San Jacinto College
2007-08 Record: 8-22
San Jacinto College is going into the season with new head coach Eric Taylor, and looking to improve on their 8-22 record from last season.
LSUE has two scheduled games against San Jac (Dec. 3 in Houston, and Jan. 7, 2009 in Eunice). Player to watch: No. 22 Adanna Opara, center.
Opara is clearly San Jac’s best returner, averaging 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 1 block per game. And at 6-1, she will have no problem dominating the post this season.

Andrew College
2007-08 Record: 3-24
Andrew College comes to Eunice in just its second season of intercollegiate competition.
Andrew finished last in their conference with a record of 3-24.
They will hope to improve with some talented incoming freshmen, and sophomores with playing experience.
LSUE defeated the Tigers last season 87-49 in Pensacola, Florida.
Player to watch: No. 50 Keywanna Kendrick, Center.
Kendrick is Andrew’s most experienced returner, averaging nearly 10 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Southwest Tennessee Community College
2007-08 Record: 27-1
Southwest Tennessee Community College comes in as the most accomplished team from last season.
The Saluqis finished a perfect 25-0, and advanced to their Regional Championship.
However, they fell to an even more talented Walters State College in the title game for their sole loss of the year.
Poised to make a comeback, they return four sophomores and a slew of new freshmen to field a very competitive squad, even receiving a No. 28 pre-season ranking in the NJCAA Division I poll.
Player to watch: No. 30 Raquel Brigham, Guard.
Brigham led her team with 54 3-pt field goals last season, and is the top returning scorer with 9 points per game during last season, and 10 rebounds per game during their conference tournament.

Louisiana State University – Eunice
2007-08 Record: 22-9
The Lady Bengals received a preseason ranking of No. 13 in the NJCAA Division II poll.
This illustrates that despite losing veterans like Kayla Armstrong and Natalie Engler, the Lady Bengals are still a force to be reckoned with.
After a tough loss in the district finals last season, the Bengals are geared up to make this year a victorious one.
Players to watch: No. 25 Candace LaCombe, Guard, and No. 4 Quanessa Batiste, Guard.
These two have been playing strong in the preseason, and it has the Lady Bengals feeling good about the upcoming regular season. The aforementioned
Batiste is a transfer from Tallahassee Community College and LaCombe is an incoming freshman from Iota High School.
Raffle tickets will be sold to win a Lady Bengal gift basket, as well as a chance to win prizes during a halftime shooting competition.
Admission is $5 for Adults, $2 for children, and all LSUE students can get in free with a student ID card.
Season tickets are available for purchase by calling the basketball office at 550-1394.