Women’s Basketball: Johnson starts quick for UL women

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • November 21, 2009

UL women’s basketball coach Errol Rogers liked what he saw last season from forward Mercedes Johnson, but he’s even happier to see how well the sophomore played in last Saturday’s 64-57 win over Texas Southern.

Johnson leads the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-0) in scoring with 18 points on 54.5 percent shooting and is tied for the team lead in rebounds (6) and steals (2).

That’s up from her freshman year, when the 5-foot-11 Houston native averaged 12.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 steal , and shot 43 percent.

Rogers said Johnson’s increased scoring is from teammates looking for her more often.

"That’s one thing that we’ve worked on, to get the ball inside to her," Rogers said. "We’ve got to get the ball to her more in the first half. Last year we relied too much on the outside shot, so it will help us to get the ball inside more."

The Cajuns — who beat LSU Shreveport, 65-63, in an exhibition game Monday — will look to get Johnson more involved early at 2 p.m. today against Southern in Earl K. Long Gym.

Playing big

The UL men’s basketball team went into the season with some questions about its inside play, and seniors Tyren Johnson and Courtney Wallace have responded well.

Johnson has been efficient, averaging 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. The 6-8 forward is shooting 62.5 percent overall (10-of-16), 66.7 percent from 3-point range (2-of-3) and 90 percent on free throws (9-of-10).

Last season, Johnson led the team in blocked shots (39) and rebounds (5.1 per game) and averaged 7.2 points.

Wallace is averaging 10.5 points and 3.0 rebounds off the bench and is shooting 57.1 percent from the floor (8-of-14). The 6-8 forward averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds last season.

The Cajuns (1-1) play the University of Mobile at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday in the Cajundome.

Odds and Ends

The women’s team beat LSUS on a buzzer-beating layup by sophomore guard Michelle Brunker, who had 10 points in six minutes off the bench. Brunker made all four of her shot attempts, including her only 3, and her lone free-throw attempt. Rogers says that performance likely earned Brunker more playing time in the future "» Rogers has also been pleased with the play of sophomore point guard Becky Hall, who has handled the ball consistently and is averaging nine points on 3-of-4 shooting. That includes a 3-of-3 effort on 3s "» Point guard Ryan McCoy has a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season (10-3). The senior had a 1.22-to-1 ratio last season (61-50).