LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Basketball team built a 13-point lead in the first quarter but James Madison caught up with its three-point shooting the next two frames and held on to claim a 68-63 win on Thursday, January 2 at the Cajundome.
Nubia Benedith connected on two triples in the opening stanza, the latter giving UL a 20-7 lead with 25 seconds remaining. The Ragin’ Cajuns (5-6, 1-1 SBC) opened the game with Aasia Sam and Erica Lafayette combining for five made free throws in building a game-opening 8-0 run.
The Dukes (10-4, 2-0 SBC), who ended the first quarter with a three-pointer, would land a combined seven triples over the second and third quarter, trimming the halftime deficit to two points at 35-33 and later claiming their first lead 40-39 at the 6:36 mark of the third on a trey from Peyton McDaniel.
JMU added to its lead on the next possession after a Cajuns turnover, Ro Scott connecting at 6:03 to make it 43-39. Benedith pumped in a pair of jumpers over the next three minutes helping UL draw even at 45-all inside of three minutes.
A three-point play from Kseniia Kozlova 15 seconds later broke the tie and the Dukes’ seventh and final triple of the deciding stretch came from McDaniel with 0:24 left in the third stretching the advantage to 55-48.
Louisiana made 11-of-12 free throw chances in creating its halftime lead, but had five key misses in the third quarter – the deficit the team faced entering the fourth.
In the final period, the Cajuns had six empty possessions after cutting the JMU lead 59-54 with 7:18 to go on a Lanay Wheaton jumper. After swapping free throws, the Dukes capitalized inside with layups from Kozlova and Ashanti Barnes during the two-minute mark to expand the lead to 65-56.
Wheaton responded with a layup at 1:55 and the Cajuns defense held the Dukes to just free throws the rest of the way. Lafayette hit a three with 0:14 showing making it 68-63 and the defense got a stop at 0:09, but JMU forced UL into a running six seconds off before another shot attempt and held on to win the battle.
It was the third meeting in SBC play between the two programs decided by six points or less. JMU came away the victor once more to remain unbeaten (5-0) all-time against Louisiana.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Lafayette scored in double figures a fifth straight game, netting 18 points on the strength of 10-of-10 shooting at the free throw line. For the second time in as many SBC games she produced 11 first-half points in guiding Louisiana to a halftime lead.
Benedith returned to play for the first time since December 18 and finished one off her season-high points total, scoring 12 points buoyed by team-high tying two three-point makes.
Louisiana won the offensive rebounds battle, 13-8, with four players picking up multiple boards lead by three from Lafayette who totaled a game-high tying eight rebounds overall.
Lafayette’s 10 free throws made marked the most by a Cajun this season in leading Louisiana to tying its season-high total as a team with 20 free throws made (20-of-26).
UL’s defense pressured JMU into 22 turnovers and collected 19 of its 27 points off of turnovers in the first half. The Dukes’ miscues weren’t as costly in the second half, yielding just eight points off of turnovers the final 20 minutes.
The Cajuns were held to their lowest field goal total (19) since the Nov. 29-30 Big Easy Classic and the Dukes capitalized with their season-high in three-point makes (9).
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns remain at the Cajundome to complete a weekend home SBC set on Saturday, January 4 with a 1:00 p.m. contest against Georgia State (7-6, 1-1 SBC). Admission is free and open to the public
It's the first meeting with GSU since a 54-41 Cajuns win on December 29, 2022 at the Cajundome. The Panthers were not on UL's schedule last season.
The GSU contest marks the first of three Saturday outings at the Cajundome in the month of January.
Live coverage is available on ESPN+, the Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network (The Goat 103.3 FM/1420 AM) and CajunStats.com.
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