Women’s Basketball: Cajuns Defeat Redhawks In Overtime, 82-78

  

Hattiesburg, Miss. – Simone Fields recorded a double-double with 27 points and 16 rebounds and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team defeated Southeast Missouri State 82-78 in overtime in the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic.

Louisiana (2-1) will face tournament host Southern Miss (4-1) in the championship game on Saturday at 4 p.m. CST.

Southeast Missouri State (2-4) gave the Cajuns all they could handle on Friday, but strong play in overtime from Louisiana senior guard Jaylyn Gordon gave the Cajuns the boost they needed down the stretch.

Gordon scored 12 of her 21 points in overtime and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line in the extra frame to seal the deal for the Cajuns.

"Jaylyn means a lot to us because she is our point guard and handles most of the pressure that is given by the other team," head coach Garry Brodhead said. "She was 11-for-11 from the free throw line and I thought that was big. We were 17-for-20 as a team, so I think that helped us get the win."

Louisiana took an early 8-3 lead with 4:58 left in the first quarter when Fields knocked down a jumper.

Southeast Missouri State responded with a 9-0 run and a three-pointer by Hannah Noe gave the Redhawks a 12-8 lead with 3:41 left in the first quarter.

The Cajuns led 16-14 when Fields connected on a jumper with one second left in the period.

"Simone can score and we were able to get her a lot of touches in the first half," Brodhead said. "They started to triple team her and Jaylyn Gordon as well as Jasmine Thomas stepped up."

Louisiana took a 25-20 lead with 4:35 left in the second quarter when Fields hit another jumper. Jodi Quinn made a layup at the buzzer and the Cajuns led 30-25 at halftime.

The Cajuns led by as many as seven when Thomas knocked down a three pointer to give Louisiana a 41-34 with 6:57 left in the third quarter.

Noe hit back-to-back three-pointers for the Redhawks to cut the Cajuns lead to 49-48 with 1:13 left in the third quarter.

"I was proud of the fact that they hung in there and fought through all of those three-pointers and found a way to win," Brodhead said.

Fields made a jumper with 20 seconds left in the third quarter and Louisiana led 51-48 at the end of the period.

The Cajuns led 55-50 with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter when junior guard Troi Swain made a layup.

Southeast Missouri State trimmed the lead to 55-54 with 6:35 remaining on four straight free throws from Olivia Hackmann, who led the Redhawks with 19 points.

Louisiana led 65-60 with 2:44 left in the fourth quarter when Fields connected on one-of-two free throws.

The Redhawks knocked down two jumpers and Hackmann converted on one-of-two free throws to tie the game 65-65 with 1:01 remaining. Neither team scored in the final minute of regulation to force the extra period.

The Cajuns opened up overtime with Thomas connecting on a layup and drawing a foul. Thomas converted the free throw to give Louisiana a 68-65 lead with 4:55 left in overtime.

Gordon also made a layup and was fouled in the process. She made the free throw to put the Cajuns in front 76-70 with 3:17 left in overtime.

Southeast Missouri State cut the Louisiana lead to 78-76 with 1:15 left in overtime when Deja Jones knocked down two free throws.

Four straight made free throws from Gordon and solid defense in the final minute helped the Cajuns preserve the win.