Midland duo inks with LSUE

MIDLAND – The Midland Lady Rebels’ 2014-15 season record wasn’t exactly eye popping.
That was mainly due to a difficult regular-season slate that included playing in a district along with eventual state champion Lacassine.
The Lady Rebels, however, weathered the storm and finished as the District 7-B runnersup, earning the No. 10 seed in the playoffs before being eliminated by No. 7 Anacoco in the second round.
Much of the Lady Rebels’ success was due to the play of seniors Bethany LeJeune and Macy Hoffpauir and their efforts didn’t go unseen.
Last week, the Midland duo joined three other Acadia Parish players - Iota’s Jillian Boone and Taylor DeVille and Notre Dame’s Madeline LeJeune - and inked National Letters of Intent to play basketball at LSU-Eunice beginning in the fall.
“This is good for Bethany and Maci and it’s also good for our program,” said MHS head coach Amanda Fontenot. “They both have natural talent and a willingness to work hard and I think that’s what helped them the most.
“Hopefully, that attitude will inspire some of the younger kids to work like them and be willing to put in the time they way that they did and it will make our program better.”
LeJeune was a four-year starter for the Lady Rebels and was most effective defensively. The 5-foot-9 guard/forward averaged nearly 2 steals a game and grabbed 3.6 rebounds. She also scored 7.3 points and dished out three assists per contest.
“Bethany has been tremendous for the growth of the program since she started playing,” said Fontenot. “She’s not a big scorer for us, but she is so instrumental on defense because she is long and she is quick. She always guards the other team’s best player and she does a great job with that.
Fontenot said LeJeune was also the emotional leader of the team: “she’ll bring the enthusiasm and the excitement. She does so many things that are small that many might not see. But I think that’s why LSUE signed her because they see all the things that she can bring to the table.”
Hoffpauir also has a lot to offer, especially in the paint. The 6-foot-1 forward averaged 8.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. She also averaged just under one blocked shot per outing.
“Macy also isn’t a huge scorer, but just her natural size is very intimidating and for her, I think just her being there kept a lot of people out of the paint,” said Fontenot. “She was very influential in a lot of games by scoring a few or stopping people from having big games against us.
“Macy is also a real good worker, she has a real good attitude and she turned into a leader for us this year.”