Thursday, December 3
Cajuns Run Away in Fourth to Top ULM, 71-52
MONROE, La. – For the first time in program history, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team (5-1, 1-0 SBC) reached their fifth win in the first six games in back-to-back seasons following a 71-52 victory over in-state conference rival ULM Thursday night.
Three Cajuns (Jaylyn Gordon – 21, Keke Veal – 14, Kia Wilridge – 14) scored in double-figure points on the evening. The Louisiana offense outscored the Warhawks, 35-24 in the third and fourth quarters to secure their third-consecutive win.
"We always knew we wouldn't quit [when we fell behind in the first quarter]," Ragin' Cajuns head coach Garry Brodhead said. "We made some adjustments on defense and came up with some steals.
"Jaylyn made some big shots along the way. We just have a lot of fighters and continued to battle back."
Louisiana fell behind, 15-10 in the first quarter and shot just 38.5% (5-of-13) from the floor. The Warhawks held a five-point lead with 34 seconds left in the opening stanza, but that advantage quickly evaporated in the second quarter when Veal, Gordon and senior Adrienne Prejean combined for the first seven points to grab a 17-15 lead.
The Cajuns never fell behind for the remainder of the contest. Their second quarter lead reached as many as 10 points at the 4:19 mark. An 8-0 run by the Warhawks sliced the Cajuns' lead to 29-27 with 1:42 left in the half. A 7-1 surge to end the quarter by the Cajuns provided them with a 36-29 cushion at halftime.
Gordon scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second quarter on 6-of-9 shooting, including five treys.
In the third quarter, the Warhawks came out on a 6-0 run to pull to within 36-34.
Following a layup from freshman forward Jordan Alexander, ULM answered with buckets by Alayshia Hunter and Aundrea Davis to knot the game at 38-38 with 5:25 left in the third.
After trading baskets, Wilridge knocked down a jump shot to put the Cajuns in front, 42-40. Louisiana took a 48-45 lead into the final 10 minutes of the game. Veal scored nine points in the third quarter alone.
ULM tied the game for the final time at 48-48 with 9:08 to go following a free throw from Journee Beard.
Gordon went down the other end of the floor on the next possession and hit a three to make it 51-48 in favor of Louisiana. The Cajuns never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the game, outscoring the Warhawks, 20-4 in the last 5:57.
The Cajuns capitalized on seven ULM turnovers in the fourth quarter, converting the miscues into 14 points. Louisiana also picked up nine points on second-chance opportunities.
The offense shot 47.4% (27-of-57) from the floor, including 40.2% (6-of-13) from three-point range. The bench supplemented the starting unit with 29 points.
The Cajuns defense allowed just 11 shot attempts to the Warhawks in the fourth quarter (3-of-11).
Wilridge moved into sole possession of seventh-place on the Cajuns' all-time assists list with 248, passing Lisa Merritt.
"We weathered the storm and overcame some adversity," Brodhead added. "I was really proud of how hard we played, especially in the second and third quarters. To finish the game off the way we did, it was a big win for our team."
The Cajuns will go for their fourth-consecutive win next Sunday, Dec. 12 against Dillard. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. from the Cajundome.
Perrymond Leads Jaguars to 47-43 Win over Alabama State
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – University of South Alabama women's basketball's Genesis Perrymond led the club with 12 points and sealed the 47-43 victory Thursday night with a clutch free-throw with 10.5 seconds remaining as the Jaguars defeated Alabama State at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
Perrymond was 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 at the foul line. She also added four steals, three rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes of action.
The Jaguars (2-3) will now close out their two-game road trip when they travel to take on Southern Mississippi. Tip-off versus the Golden Eagles is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Reed Green Coliseum. Live stats and web streaming for the contest can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com. Fans can also keep up with in-match updates by following action on the program's twitter account @SouthALWBB.
LaNeetra Guillory had eight points and six rebounds for the Jaguars, while Colby Davis and Juliann Miller chipped in with six points apiece.
Alabama State fell to 1-4 with the loss and was led offensively by Britney Wright's game-high 13 points and eight rebounds. Wright was 5-of-12 from the floor. Jasmine Peeples also ended the night in double figures with 11 points and added six rebounds.
The Hornets shot just 26.4 percent from the floor (14-of-53) and was just 2-for-17 (11.8 percent) from beyond the arc. South Alabama connected on 15 of its 47 shot attempts for 31.9 percent.
After ASU picked up the first two points of the game on a pair of free throws, South Alabama rattled off eight-straight points to take a six-point lead. Guillory did the scoring early on for the Jaguars as she had four of USA's first eight points.
The Hornets finally recorded their first field goal at the 4:50 mark on Wright's layup. Wright would go on to have six points in the first period of play. Alabama State later tied the contest up at 9-9 on a pair of free throws from Peeples at the 3:15 mark and then took its first lead of the contest (11-10) with two minutes, 27 seconds to go in the quarter on a layup by Shamyiah Smith.
The Jaguars reclaimed the lead a minute later following another bucket by Guillory and then took a 13-11 lead into the second quarter after India Hall hit one of two at the line.
South Alabama scored the first four points of the second quarter and extended its lead out to 17-11. Ellis knocked down a jumper in the lane on the Jaguars' first possession of the period and a little over a minute later, Davis knocked down two more free throws to give USA the six-point advantage.
Peeples hit two free throws of her own on the Hornet's ensuing possession, but those would be the only points of the period for ASU as it went 0-for-8 from the field and turned the ball over six times.
True freshman Alyese Givens, playing her first significant action of the season, scored South Alabama's final five points of the period – a three-pointer from the left wing and a pair of free throws – and sent South Alabama into the locker room with a 24-13 halftime advantage.
Neither team shot the ball well during the first 20 minutes of action as the Jaguars were 8-of-28 from the field for 28.6 percent, while Alabama State was 3-of-21 for 14.3 percent.
Peeples bucket at 8:32 snapped a streak of 16-straight missed field goals for the Hornets going back to the end of the first quarter.
Perrymond would provide the offense for the Jaguars in the third as she scored 11 points in the frame. The redshirt freshman had been held scoreless during the first half. With ASU pressing, Perrymond got behind the defense for a layup with seven minutes to go in the third to put the Jags up by 14 (30-16).
That basket would start a stretch in which Perrymond would score 11 of the Jaguars' next 12 points. Following the layup, Perrymond converted two-straight and-one opportunities. She then drained a three-pointer from the left wing with less than two to go in the quarter to give South Alabama its largest lead of the game at 40-23.
Holding the double-digit lead entering the fourth, South Alabama began to struggle on the offensive end with missed shot attempts and turnovers.
Alabama State took advantage of the miscues and battled back, pulling within three in the closing seconds. Peeples, who eight of her 12 points during the final 10 minutes of action, led the charge.
USA led by 12 with just under six to go and over the next four-plus minutes, held South Alabama scoreless and scored six-straight points to pull within six (44-38) at the 1:42 mark.
Colby Davis looked as if she had give the Jags the momentum back as she hit a pair of free throws with 19.9 remaining, but after calling a time out and advancing the ball to mid-court, the Hornets found Peeples open in the lane for a quick scorer. Pressuring the ball on the inbounds, ASU forced South Alabama to turn the ball over and Wright banked in a three-pointer from the top of the key to cut the deficit to 46-43 with 12.2 showing on the clock.
Forced to foul, South Alabama go the ball into Perrymond and she hit one of two to put USA up by four. The Hornets then were unable to score, sealing the win for the Jaguars.
Texas State Takes Down 1-35 Rival UTSA
SAN MARCOS, Texas – In a high intensity, emotionally draining game, the Texas State women’s basketball team defeated the UTSA Roadrunners by a score of 72-64 Thursday evening at Strahan Coliseum.
Sophomore Taeler Deer led the ‘Cats with 27 points, marking the second 20+ game this season for her. Ericka May was a rebounding force for Texas State as she pulled down a career-high 14 boards.
How It Happened:
After UTSA took a 6-2 lead early in the first half, Texas State put together a 14-5 run to take a five point advantage. That run was highlighted with four three pointers, which helped set the tone for the remainder of the contest.
Texas State finished the first quarter with five made three’s at a clip of 62.5 percent. The fifth three of the period proved to be a statement three as Toshua Leavitt drained it as time expired.
The Bobcats continued to build upon their lead over the Roadrunners throughout the second quarter. Texas State would go up by as many as 11 in just the first couple of minutes of the period with help from a three by Kaitlin Walla and a pair of baskets by Ericka May and Whitney Apari.
As with all rivalry games, the Roadrunners were far from out of the contest. After taking an 11-point lead, the Bobcats let UTSA come within five with 4:53 to play. Before the end of the first half, the Bobcat lead dwindled to just two with 2:26 to play as UTSA’s Kasia Kiejdrowska drained a three-pointer. Five of May’s seven points came in the final minute and a half of the first half including a three at the buzzer to put the ‘Cats back up nine.
With a balanced third quarter offensively, it all came down to the Bobcats holding on to their lead in the fourth. UTSA stormed out of the gates in the final period by producing an 8-0 to tie up the game at 56-all.
Texas State had an answer and managed to build its lead back up to as many as eight after a pair of free throws by Deer with 3:30 to play.
The Bobcats final eight points of the game all came from the charity stripe as UTSA was in desperation mode trying to force Texas State to miss. Walla put the icing on the cake by draining a pair from the stripe with 11 second to play.
UTA Struggles Offensively at K-State
MANHATTAN, Kan. – UT Arlington was unable to replicate its Tuesday night performance as it fell 61-41 to Kansas State on Thursday at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Lady Mavericks (3-4) had their two-game winning streak snapped at the hands of a poor shooting performance. Shooting 51.0 percent against SFA in Tuesday's win, the Lady Mavs struggled to get a rhythm and finished at a 27.3 percent clip.
Kansas State (5-1) was lethal from beyond the arc, using the trey to pull away from UTA. The Wildcats hit nine overall in the contest to UTA's four, including five from Kindred Wesemann on the way to her game-high 19 points.
Turnovers prevented the Lady Mav offense from igniting any attempt at a comeback as it fell down by double digits early in the second quarter. The Lady Mavs turned the ball over 22 times in the contest.
The Wildcats improved to 3-0 all-time against UTA, defeating the Lady Mavs for the second consecutive year.