ARLINGTON, Texas – Another stellar defensive showing and 26 fourth-quarter points proved to be the difference for Louisiana, who claimed an impressive 62-57 road win over first-place UT Arlington.
Saturday’s contest was all about defense until the fourth quarter when the Ragin’ Cajuns outscored the Lady Mavs 26-19 to jump in front and steal the victory. Louisiana was able to hold a UTA team that averages 70 points per game to just 57 points and forced 17 turnovers during the contest.
Sophomore Makayia Hallmon came up huge, leading four Ragin’ Cajuns in double figures with 17 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Lanay Wheaton added 12 points and matched Hallmon’s rebound total, while Destiny Rice scored 10 points and dished out a team-best three assists.
Ty’Reona Doucet continued her stellar run of play with her eighth-straight double-double, scoring 10 points and hauling in 14 rebounds to go along with three steals and two blocks.
Louisiana (14-6, 6-4 Sun Belt) finished the game shooting 43 percent (23-for-54) from the field en route to earning its first win over UTA in Arlington since Feb. 18, 2016.
UT Arlington (15-6, 9-3 Sun Belt) took advantage of a 12-2 run in the first quarter to take a 12-4 lead, but the Cajuns did not buckle and slowly chipped away at the deficit in the final 4:53 to pull within 12-11. Neither team seized control in the next period, but a Hallmon jumper at the buzzer pulled Louisiana within one point (23-22) at halftime.
The home team scored the first points of the second half, but an offensive surge in the middle of the third saw the Ragin’ Cajuns go up 31-27 at the 6:24 mark. UTA countered in a big way and used an 11-5 run to end the quarter to take the 38-36 lead.
Both teams traded buckets in the first three minutes of the final stanza before a 7-0 run jolted the visitors ahead, 48-43, with 5:32 to play. UT Arlington pulled within a point twice minutes later, but the Ragin’ Cajuns held strong on defense and took advantage of the charity stripe to go ahead 58-49 with 47 ticks on the clock.
UTA did not bow out and pulled within three points after a deep-made 3-pointer from Katie Ferrell. However, Tamera Johnson, who fell just shy of a double-double with nine points and seven rebounds, iced the game in the final seconds with two made free throws to give her team the 62-57 win.
Louisiana will not play again until Saturday, Feb. 19, when it travels north to take on in-state rival ULM. Tipoff in Monroe is slated for 2 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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