NEW ORLEANS -- Jaylen Gordon scored 21 points and Jasmine Thomas scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half as fifth-seeded Louisiana went on to upset top-seeded Little Rock, 79-71 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship.

Simone Fields added 16 points along with eight rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns (20-10) who will be making their first appearance in the title game since 2007. Louisiana will face the winner of Saturday night's second semifinal between No. 2 UTA and No. 3 Troy.

It is the third consecutive season the Ragin' Cajuns surpassed the 20-win mark. The berth into the title game marks the first time a fifth seed will make an appearance in tournament history.

Little Rock (24-8), led by Sharde' Collins' 27 points, held a 22-19 lead after one and was ahead by 10 with just over six minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Cajuns rallied late in the half and took a two-point lead into halftime, 40-38.

Louisiana never looked back at that point. The teams traded blows in the second half with the lead changing six times throughout the final two stanzas.

Ronjanae DeGray added 16 points for the Trojans and Monqiue Townson chipped in 12.