Box Score (PDF)

 

 

LAFAYETTE — The 2015-16 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team put a bow on one of the program’s most successful seasons with a thrilling 87-85 double overtime win over Weber State to capture the WBI Tournament Championship for the second straight season.
 
"We talk about finishing strong every year and for us to end the game in double overtime and come up with a stop defensively, it is our MO as a team. They continued to fight and continued to work and it’s what we preach and practice. If you work hard and give a lot of effort and energy."
 
The Cajuns finish the season with a 25-10 record, tying the program record for most wins in a single season (2006-07).
 
Senior guard Keke Veal led all scorers with 32 points to cap off a superb four-year career at the University of Louisiana. She added three rebounds, four assists and a team-high five steals to her stat line.
 
Sophomore forward Simone Fields added her fourth double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while senior guard Kia Wilridge.
 
Veal, Wilridge and Fields were all named to the WBI All-Tournament Team following the victory.
 
"I thought they played extremely well in all four games," Brodhead added. "Kia and Simone had double doubles which was huge for us. Keke found herself tonight with her scoring and it was big for her to carry us on the offensive side. She takes a lot of defense away from other people on our team [with the attention she creates]. You look at those three [Veal, Wilridge, Fields] and they definitely deserve the accolades that they receive."
 
The opening quarter was a back and forth affair, The Cajuns led early, 4-2, but Weber State pulled off an 11-4 scoring run to capture a 13-8 lead at the 3:02 mark.
 
The first quarter ended with Weber State ahead, 16-13.
 
In the second stanza, the Cajuns fell behind by as many as eight points (26-18) at the 4:39 mark. Five straight free throws from Wilridge and Fields closed the gap to 26-23 with nearly 2 ½ minutes to go. After a layup by Brittney Dunbar, Veal made a four straight free throws on the next two possessions to make it a 28-27 contest in favor of Weber State.
 
Senior Brooklyn Arceneaux evened the score at 29-29 with 52 seconds left on a layup, but Deeshyra Thomas’ layup put the Cajuns back in a 31-29 hole.

With 17 seconds remaining in the first half, Arceneaux brought the score to even at 31-31 on a jumper.
 
The Cajuns collected nine points off turnovers in the second quarter.
 
Louisiana regained the lead just 24 seconds into the third quarter on a layup by Veal. After Weber State tied the game on the next possession, the Cajuns score five straight points to take their largest lead of the game at 39-34.
 
Three consecutive buckets by the Wildcats gave the lead back to Weber State at 40-39 with 5:32 remaining in the third quarter. A pair of free throws by Dunbar increased the lead to 42-39, but Cajuns junior guard Taylor Washington answered with a three-pointer to tie the game at 42-42 with 4:03 to play in the third.
 
With the Cajuns trailing, 49-48 in the final 10 seconds of the third, Veal knocked down a three-pointer as time expired to give the Cajuns a 51-49 lead going into the fourth.
 
The Cajuns opened up a six-point lead with 8:53 to go in the fourth quarter following a jumper from Veal.
 
Weber State quickly tied the game up with a pair of treys from Jaiamoni Welch-Coleman.
 
Veal and Fields combined for the game’s next six points to put the Cajuns ahead, 61-55 with 6:45 remaining in regulation.
 
The Cajuns maintained that six point lead through 1:50 of the fourth, but the Wildcats scored seven of the next eight points, capped off by a layup by Dunbar as time expired in the fourth to send the game to overtime.
 
In the first overtime, the two foes traded buckets to start the period. With Weber State ahead, 74-73 with 3:49 to go, Weber State’s Jocelyn Adams made a layup to increase their lead to 76-73.
 
Wilridge and Fields came back with consecutive layups to give the Cajuns a narrow 77-76 edge with 1:02 remaining, but Dunbar tied the game at 77-77 after splitting a pair of free throws to send the game to a second extra session.
 
In the second overtime, the Cajuns took the first lead on a jumper by Wilridge. After Wilridge came back with a layup to make it 81-78 in favor of UL, Weber State’s Yarden Danan hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 81-81 with 3:30 to play.
 
The two teams exchanged free throws to keep it a tied affair at 83-83 with 2:23 on the clock, but three straight free throws by UL pushed them ahead, 86-83 with 1:53 remaining.
 
Weber State drew a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws with 47 seconds remaining, but junior Sylvana Okde sank a free throw with eight seconds remaining to preserve the 87-85 win.
 
Louisiana shot 41.7% (30-of-72) from the field and made 78% (25-of-32) of their free throws.
 
The Cajuns took advantage of 28 turnovers by Weber State, converting the miscues into 34 points. UL outscored the Wildcats, 46-38 in the paint.