LAFAYETTE – Kia Wilridge scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the second half and the UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns used a 26-6 run to pull away and defeat Texas-Pan American, 78-56, in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational on Thursday at Earl K. Long Gym.

Freshman Simone Fields scored 14 points for Louisiana (20-12), which went 20-for-28 (71.4 percent) from the floor in the second half and finished with a season-high 50.9 percent mark (29-for-57) for the game. 

The win, UL Lafayette's first in postseason play, marked the first 20-win season for the Ragin' Cajuns since finishing 25-9 in 2006-07 and the third 20-win season in school history. UL Lafayette will face No. 6-seed McNeese State (18-13), an 86-70 winner over No. 3-seeded Furman, in the second round on Saturday in a 7 p.m. contest at Earl K. Long Gym. 

General admission tickets are $10 for adults with the first 500 students, with a valid University I.D., admitted free, courtesy of Coca Cola – the official soft drink of the Ragin' Cajuns. All students who attend will receive a free hot dog and soft drink, courtesy of Sodexo, while supplies last.

Keke Veal added 12 points for the Ragin' Cajuns, the No. 2 seed in the West Region, with Jaylyn Gordon adding 11. Adrienne Prejean and Gabby Alexander added eight points each for the Cajuns, with Prejean pulling a season-high tying nine rebounds.

UTPA (19-15) led 27-21 on a pair of free throws by T'Ondria Nolen with 1:08 remaining in the first half and 40-35 on a layup by Hildur Kjartansdottir with 13:39 remaining before the Cajuns fought back to take the lead. A 3-pointer by Robbie Brown tied the game at 43-43 with 11:16 remaining and the Ragin' Cajuns would build a 50-45 lead after a layup by Wilridge with 9:42 left.

A bucket by Brittany Bush got the Broncs to within 52-50 with 8:36 remaining, but UTPA would go 1-for-9 from the floor down the stretch with five turnovers while Louisiana pulled away behind a 9-for-12 performance from the floor.

Buckets by Gordon and Brown pushed UL Lafayette's lead to 56-50 before a 14-0 run after a bucket by UTPA's Stephanie Onyeje turned a 56-52 game into a 70-52 contest. Wilridge opened the run with a three-point play with 6:18 remaining before a bucket by Veal and a 3-pointer by Gordon pushed UL Lafayette's lead to 64-52. Veal added a pair of free throws before layups by Gordon and Wilridge gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 70-52 lead with 4:03 left.

The first half saw seven tied and six lead changes before UTPA used a 7-0 run to stage an early five-point lead. Bush, who recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, tied the game at 19-19 with a layup with 5:44 remaining in the half before four straight points from Cha'zaye Wright and a free throw by Bush gave UTPA a 24-19 lead.

The Broncs led 27-21 after Nolen sank a pair of free throws, but Louisiana closed out the half as Brown sank a jumper and Wilridge sank a pair of free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining in the half.

Bush finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for UTPA after being held to 1-for-6 from the floor in the second half. Wright and Rickell Preston scored eight points each for UTPA, which was making its first-ever postseason appearance after falling in the championship game of the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.

UTPA finished 21-for-55 (38.2 percent) from the floor and 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) from behind the 3-point line. The Broncs finished with 18 turnovers and were outscored in the paint by the Ragin' Cajuns, 42-18.