Press Release
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In what turned into a dog fight, Louisiana Women’s Basketball (2-11, 0-2 SBC) could not overcome a slow start to drop its Sun Belt Conference matchup at the defending Sun Belt Conference Champion Little Rock Trojans (6-7, 2-0 SBC), 62-48, at the Jack Stephens Center.
Louisiana was outscored 23-8 in the first quarter and it put Louisiana in a hole, but the Ragin’ Cajuns came storming back and cut Little Rock’s lead to under 10 points in the third quarter. An unfortunately timed scoring drought during the final two minutes of the third period would lead to Louisiana falling behind by double digits and the Ragin’ Cajuns would not overcome that deficit.
Sophomore guard Skyler Goodwin lead Louisiana in scoring finishing with 12 points on 3-for-8 shooting from the field (6-for-10 from the free throw line), while freshman guard Andrea Cournoyer racked up double-figures as well, finishing with 11 points. Sophomore center Ty’Reona Doucet snagged a team-high nine rebounds while adding seven points of her own.
HOW IT HAPPENED (First Half): Louisiana opened the game scoring on its first possession when redshirt freshman Kristen Daniels hit a jumper from just outside the paint. But Little Rock responded with a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to pull ahead 12-4 with five minutes to go in the quarter.
During the final five minutes of the first quarter, Little Rock continued to extend its lead and when the quarter came to an end Little Rock led 23-8.
Two free throws from Little Rock’s Terrion Moore pushed Little Rock’s lead to a game-high 17 points with just over nine minutes to go in the second quarter. But Louisiana began to cut into Little Rock’s lead and after a free throw from Goodwin at the 6:26 mark the score sat at 25-14.
A quick 5-0 run, powered by a Cournoyer three-point basket, cut Little Rock’s lead to under 10 points with the score sitting at 29-20. Both teams then traded baskets down the final one and a half minutes and when things went into the break Little Rock held a 33-23 lead.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Half): Louisiana came out on fire to start the second half and they went on a 6-0 run when Cournoyer hit a jumper at the 7:43 mark of the third quarter. Little Rock did not score again until a Tori Lasker layup with 4:26 to go in the quarter put the score at 37-31.
Freshman guard Diamond Morrison hit a basket with 2:23 left in the period and it put the score at 41-35 in favor of Little Rock. But a quick 4-0 finish from Little Rock allowed the Trojans to push their lead back to 10 points and when the quarter came to an end Little Rock led 45-35.
Throughout the fourth quarter, Louisiana could not get the Little Rock lead to below 10 points, getting it to 10 points for one final time on a Doucet jumper at the 5:29 mark to put the score at 49-39. Down the stretch, Little Rock continued to pad its lead and when the game came to an end, Little Rock had stretched its lead to a final score of 62-48.
GAME NOTES: Junior forward Kendall Bess finished with a career-high seven points (2-for-5 FG; 3-for-4 FT).
UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Louisiana returns to the CAJUNDOME to open its home Sun Belt Conference slate, with the first of three-straight home games when the Georgia State Panthers come to Lafayette, La., on Thursday, Jan. 10 with the tip of that game scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (PxP) and Lawana Stokes (Analyst) handling the call, while on the radio Steve Peloquin will handle the play-by-play duties on ESPN1420.
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE: Both season tickets and individual game tickets for Louisiana Women’s Basketball are available for purchase by either heading to ragincajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at the CAJUNDOME, (337) 265-2357, or by visiting the office in person.
FOLLOWING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS: Follow the Ragin’ Cajuns on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@RaginCajunsWBB) to stay up-to-date with Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Basketball.