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Women’s Basketball: Louisiana Falls to UTA, 73-66, at E.K. LongRagin’ Cajuns host Texas State on Saturday with tournament seeding on the line
Next Game:
Texas State
3/7/2020 | 2:00 PM
LAFAYETTE – A stellar first-half performance from Louisiana was not enough to hold off third-ranked UTA, which used a big second half to spoil the Ragin’ Cajuns’ homecoming to Earl K. Long Gymnasium with a 73-66 victory on Thursday evening.
Louisiana (16-12, 9-8 SBC) was dominant in the first half, shooting 54.5 percent (12-for-22) from the floor and an electric 75 percent (6-for-8) from long range, but was outscored 39-29 and held to a 35.7 percent clip from the foor in the final two quarters.
The defeat snapped a nine-game winning streak in E.K. Long and was the team’s first defeat in the historic venue since Jan. 30, 2013, when it fell to North Texas by a score of 71-59.
With the Sun Belt Conference Tournament looming, Louisiana still has a lot to play for come Saturday afternoon with the No. 4 seed and hosting duties on the line. With Little Rock losing to Troy on Thursday, the Ragin’ Cajuns could still clinch the right to host the opening two rounds with a victory over Texas State and a Little Rock loss.
Junior Skyler Goodwin, who had limited playing time on the team’s Carolina swing, led the way with 13 points and went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Kendall Bess matched a career high with 12 points in the contest, while Brandi Williams notched her third-straight, double-digit performance with 11 points.
The Ragin’ Cajuns also received a valuable 24 minutes from junior point guard Jasmine Thomas, who led the team with six rebounds and two assists to go along with eight points, her highest scoring total since notching eight points at Ole Miss on Dec. 20, 2019.
Louisiana opened the game on a 7-2 run with the help of a jumper in the paint by Kimberly Burton, but it quickly evaporated when Katie Ferrell tied things up after making two free throws.
Another quick surge highlighted by a big 3-pointer off the hands of Williams saw the home team take its largest lead of the game at 18-10 with 2:02 to play in the first quarter, but UTA was once again up to the call and cut the lead to 18-15 at the end of the period.
The Lady Mavs (19-10, 13-4 SBC) kept the score within one possession for most of the second quarter before six-straight free throws from Goodwin in the span of 53 seconds pushed the lead out to 35-27. UTA responded with a 7-2 run in the final 2:25 of the period, though, cutting Louisiana’s lead to 37-34 at the break.
Junior Ty’Reona Doucet scored two of her nine points to get things going in the second half, but a flurry of UTA buckets, including a fast-break layup by Aysia Evans, put UTA ahead 44-43, its first lead since the early goings of the opening quarter. The lead continued to grow and reached 54-47 by the end of the third.
Evans continued the push the tempo for the Lady Mavs and extended her team’s advantage to 59-49 with 8:27 to play after a fast-break 3-pointer. After trading buckets over the course of the next six minutes, Williams brought her team to within 68-64 with two made free throws, but it was as close as they would get as the Ragin’ Cajuns fell, 73-66.
Louisiana closes out the regular season on Saturday afternoon when it welcomes Texas State to the Cajundome on Senior Day. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN� and Talk Radio 960 AM. Fans are encouraged to stick around after the game as the program recognizes the contributions of Bess and three student managers.
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