Women’s Basketball: Louisiana Claims Sun Belt Regular-Season Title with 60-32 Win Over Little Rock

Ragin’ Cajuns secure first title in program history on the final day of the regular season

LAFAYETTE – It is only fitting that the 50^th Season of Louisiana Women’s Basketball will go down as the most historic year in program history.
 
After overcoming so much adversity throughout the 2020-21 campaign, the Ragin’ Cajuns were rewarded for their hard work by being crowned the regular-season champions of the Sun Belt Conference following a 60-32 victory over Little Rock.
 
Powered by its senior class and extraordinary depth on the bench, Louisiana (14-5, 13-1 Sun Belt) saw 11 of the 12 players who appeared in the game score to help extend the team’s winning streak to 13 games.
 
Jomyra Mathis led the way for the Cajuns with 12 points while fellow seniors Kimberly Burton and Ty’Reona Doucet each recorded 11 points on Senior Night. Doucet, as she has done so many times throughout her career, led the way with seven rebounds.
 
The program’s two other honorees during the Senior Night celebration, Skyler Goodwin and Kristen Daniels, scored five points and two points, respectively, with Goodwin also contributing four rebounds and Daniels dishing out a career-high three assists.
 
Louisiana’s defense was locked in all night, holding Little Rock under 10 points in three of the contest’s four quarters and forcing 21 Trojan turnovers which the team turned into 14 points.
 
Offensively, the Cajuns could not have asked for a better start to Saturday’s affair, outscoring their opponent, 23-8, behind eight points from Mathis. The period ended with a bang when Makayia Hallmon buried a jumper at the horn.
 
A 6-2 run in the span of 5:15 to start the second quarter was capped off by a jumper from Caira Wren to put Louisiana ahead, 29-10. Trinitee Alexander scored the only other Trojan points of the quarter two minutes later before another 6-0 run, highlighted by a Burton buzzer beater, put the Cajuns ahead 35-13 at the break.
 
Little Rock (13-10, 9-7 Sun Belt) found its offensive footing in the third quarter, clawing back into the game and cutting its deficit to 43-29 when Teal Battle, who led all scorers with 16 points, nailed a 3-pointers.
 
After trading buckets early in the final quarter, Louisiana finished off the remaining 8:12 of the contest on a 14-1 run behind buckets from five different Cajuns to lock up the historic 60-32 victory.
 
Louisiana, who earned a first-round bye, opens play in the Sun Belt Tournament in Pensacola, Florida, on Saturday, March 6, when it will face the winner of the 4-5 game between South Alabama and Arkansas State.
 
Tipoff from Bay Center Arena is slate for 1:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN�.