Mercedes Johnson’s jumper with one second remaining clinched a thrilling 71-69 victory for the University of Louisiana women’s basketball team over the North Texas Mean Green on Wednesday evening at Earl K. Long Gym.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (10-11, 3-5 Sun Belt) trailed by as many as 13 in the first half and slowly chipped their way back into the game, out-scoring UNT, 32-21, in the second half. North Texas (5-17, 2-7 Sun Belt) dropped their third consecutive game, while UL snapped a season-long four game losing skid.

Louisiana went on a 12-to-3 run to take a 65-64 lead with 5:57 remaining in the second half. The contest went back and forth for the next five minutes. With the game tied at 69, Lyndra Bell snagged a turnover to give UL one more possession.

Johnson missed a jumper, but point guard Nicole Morris reeled in the rebound. UL took a timeout with four seconds remaining. Johnson drained the jumper with one tick on the clock remaining thanks to a pass from Morris.

Johnson, a Houston native, scored 13 points, her 17^th double-figure contest of the year. The junior reeled in nine rebounds and recorded two steals in 36 minutes of action.

Leading the way for the Cajuns was Bell, she notched 14 points and four rebounds.

Senior guard Jasmine Barnes, who moved into 10^th in games played at Louisiana, tallied 13 points with two assists, two rebounds and two steals.

North Texas was swept by Louisiana for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign. The win also gave UL their first double-digit win season since 2006-07. It also marked the most wins in a season during Coach Errol Rogers’ tenure.

For the contest, Louisiana shot 43 percent from the floor (29-of-68), while North Texas was held to 42 percent (26-of-62). The Mean Green had an edge in the boards, 48-36. But, UL forced 21 North Texas turnovers.

Tamara Torru scored a game-high 16 points for the Mean Green.

In the first half, North Texas inked seven three-pointers as they took a 48-39 lead into the locker room. UNT shot 46 percent (18-of-39), while the Ragin’ Cajuns had made 42 percent from the floor (16-of-38).

D’ Mya Clay had 11 points for the Cajuns in the first half, while Jasmine Godbolt had also scored 11 for UNT. Clay finished the game with a season-best 12 points. Godbolt completed the game with 13 points.

North Texas took a 12-10 lead near the 15 minute mark until Bell’s triple put the Cajuns up by one.

Back-to-back triples by the Mean Green sparked an eight point swing for UNT as they took a 20-15 lead. Nicole Morris hit a basket to cut UL’s deficit to three.

Morris reeled in a critical rebound and threw a court-length pass to help Louisiana cut the Mean Green’s lead to 28-25. But the Mean Green answered with another pair of triples to extend their lead back to seven, 34-27.

Barnes connected on a three-point play to help Louisiana pull within four. The senior banked another freebie to make it a 34-31 contest with 5:25 left in the first. The Baton Rouge native picked up a steal and scored a break-away layup to make it a one-point UNT lead.

Godbolt answered with another three-pointer, making it 37-33 in favor of the Mean Green. Kellum answered with a layup as UNT re-extended the lead to seven.

UNT scored five points to take an 11 point lead. Barnes drained two free throws to make it a 48-39 UNT lead at the half.

In the second half, the Mean Green continued to score despite Louisiana attempting to cut into the lead. Danielle Smith’s triple put the game back in single digits with 15-plus minutes left in the contest.

On the next possession, Barnes followed up with a triple for UL, making it a 55-50 contest with 14:38 left in the game.

Clay’s made free throw at 12:32 helped Louisiana cut the deficit to 57-53. North Texas went on a 5-0 run to open up an eight point lead with 10 minutes left in the game.

Kemi Rotibi added a three-point play after making a basket and draining her free throw to make it a 62-58 contest with 8:15 left. Rotibi finished with eight points.

Morris connected on a layup to cut the Mean Green’s lead within three with less than seven minutes. Bell added a jumper from the free throw line to make it a 64-63 contest at 6:40. UNT and UL traded jabs for the next five minutes as the game remained tied, 69-all with 56 second left.

Bell stole a bounce pass to give Louisiana thee ball with 32.6 seconds left. Johnson missed a jumper, but Louisiana retained the rebound before calling a timeout with 4.4 seconds remaining. Johnson hit the jumper to seal the Cajuns win, 71-69.

The Ragin’ Cajuns will take a one-game road trip to South Alabama on Sunday, Jan. 30. The game will be televised on the Sun Belt Network (CSS/CST) with a tip-off at Noon. Check your local listings if the game will be carried in your TV market.

— Ragin’ Cajuns —