Women’s Basketball: Louisiana Hangs On to Defeat Arkansas State, 52-49

Ragin’ Cajuns own seven-game winning streak for first time since 2006-07 season

LAFAYETTE – On a night filled with plenty of twists and turns, Louisiana overcame a wild sequence in the final eight seconds of game play to defeat a pesky Arkansas State squad, 52-49, on Friday.
 
With the hard-fought victory, the Ragin’ Cajuns (8-5, 7-1 Sun Belt) extended their winning streak to seven games, the first time the team has done so since it won seven consecutive contests from Jan. 3-25, 2007.
 
The defense held its own throughout the night by holding A-State to 49 points, the fourth time this season it has held an opponent to 49 points or less. Senior Ty’Reona Doucet came up big on the defensive side of the floor by matching a career high with five blocks and recording two of the team’s seven steals.
 
Despite only shooting 28 percent (21-for-75) from the floor, Louisiana got just enough offense to secure the victory, paced by 11 points from Skyler Goodwin. Makayia Hallmon, who earned the first start of her career, and Kimberly Burton each added nine points against the Red Wolves, while Doucet fell two points shy of a double-double with eight points and a team-high 12 boards.
 
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams that featured four lead changes and six ties. A-State (9-6, 4-5 Sun Belt) was able to sneak out to a 17-14 with four seconds to play in the opening stanza after two made free throws from Jada Stinson, who led the Red Wolves with 16 points overall.
 
Louisiana found its groove early in the second period, skipping out on a 10-0 run over a 3:03 stretch to jump ahead 24-17. Destiny McAfee, who finished the night with six points, converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 5:21 flashing on the clock to put her team up 27-17 before Louisiana finish off the half holding a 29-23 lead.
 
It was a dream start to the second half for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who used an 8-0 run capped by a fast-break layup from Goodwin to push the advantage to 37-23 and force an Arkansas State timeout. However, the Red Wolves answered in a big way out of their timeout by closing out the quarter on a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 41-36.
 
The battle continued between the two sides throughout the fourth quarter as Arkansas State threatened multiple times by pulling within one score, but Louisiana was able to hold off the attack despite missed opportunities to close the game out at the free throw line.
 
With eight seconds remaining and McAfee having made a free throw to put her team up 52-49, A-State saw a game-tying 3-pointer go through the hoop, but a three-second violation on Peyton Martin negated the score and secured the victory for Louisiana.
 
The two teams will meet for the fourth and final time this season on Saturday afternoon with tipoff slated for 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on both ESPN� and ESPN1420 AM.
 
Getting tickets to Louisiana Women’s Basketball has never been easier or safer with mobile ticketing from Ticketmaster. Download the #GeauxCajuns app on your smart phone to begin the process. For more information on Women’s Basketball tickets, fans can call the Louisiana athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2170.