University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thrilling game opens season for Lady Cajuns
11/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LAFAYETTE, LA - Louisiana-Lafayette fell to Nicholls State on Friday night by a score of 59-57 in a thrilling season opener for both teams. The loss spoils the debut of new Ragin' Cajuns coach J. Kelley Hall.
Down 13 points with only four minutes remaining, the Cajuns responded with their first big run of the game.
Sharee Glenn hit a free throw, then a three-pointer to cut the score to 55-46. Brooke Williams followed with a bucket to trim the Nicholls lead even further. A pair of free throws by Vangela Menter and a basket from Anna Petrakova saw the Cajuns pull to within three points, 55-52.
With 40 seconds remaining, Glenn hit another three-pointer to tie the game. A free throw from Fatimat Bello gave the Colonels a 56-55 edge with 18 seconds remaining. Out of timeouts, the Cajuns calmly walked up the court generating a lay-up by Petrakova to take a 57-56 lead with only four seconds on the clock.
Following a timeout, NSU's Lisa Lawrence grabbed the ball at the baseline and raced the length of the court. Lawrence threw up a shot at the top of the key that banked in as the buzzer sounded. The shot was only the fourth attempt of the game by Lawrence and her first basket.
UL Lafayette was without senior guard Charlotte Green, who missed the game still recovering from a knee injury. Glenn led the Cajuns with 18 points. Sarah Richey, who fouled out with 5:13 remaining, added 11 points and six rebounds along with Petrakova.
The Cajuns had a big mountain to climb, falling behind 35-19 at the end of the first half. Down as many as 22 points, UL Lafayette finished with six unanswered points to close the halftime gap to only 16.
Louisiana-Lafayette struggled offensively in the first frame, while Nicholls State had no problems, especially from long range. NSU hit four of their first five three point attempts, shooting 41 percent overall. The Cajuns had trouble hitting baskets, shooting only 20 percent.
Mandy Broussard led all scorers with 22 points. The Kaplan native scored the Colonels' first eight points to give NSU an early 8-1 lead. The Nicholls State lead continued to grow until peaking at 35-13.
Nicholls State (59) Broussard, Mandy 9-16 1-2 22; Washington, Crescent 4-10 2-2 10; Bello, Fatimat 2-2 3-4 7; Posey, Jen 2-10 2-3 6; Gipson, Jessica 1-3 2-2 4; Lawrence, Lisa 1-4 0-0 3; Duhon, Kristin 1-4 0-0 3; Heinzl, Kristy 1-1 0-0 2; Chopita, Elrolica 0-1 2-2 2; Mason, Keana 0-1 0-0 0; Fulton, Kaci 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 12-15 59.
UL Lafayette (57) Glenn, Sharee 6-16 3-8 18; Petrakova, Anna 4-7 3-5 11; Richey, Sarah 4-16 3-8 11; Williams, Brooke 3-5 0-0 6; Menter, Vangela 2-7 2-3 6; White, Tammie 1-4 3-4 5; Blanche, Ashley 0-3 0-0 0; Tolston, Bernette 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-59 14-28 57.
3-point goals-Nicholls State 5-14 (Broussard, Mandy 3-5; Duhon, Kristin 1-3; Lawrence, Lisa 1-1; Gipson, Jessica 0-2; Chopita, Elrolica 0-1; Fulton, Kaci 0-1; Washington, Crescent 0-1), Louisiana-Lafayette 3-12 (Glenn, Sharee 3-6; Petrakova, Anna 0-1; Menter, Vangela 0-2; Blanche, Ashley 0-2; Tolston, Bernette 0-1). Fouled out--Nicholls State-None, Louisiana-Lafayette-Richey, Sarah. Rebounds-Nicholls State 38 (Lawrence, Lisa 7), Louisiana-Lafayette 51 (Williams, Brooke 10). Assists-Nicholls State 9 (Washington, Crescent 4),
Louisiana-Lafayette 8 (White, Tammie 3). Total fouls-Nicholls State 20, Louisiana-Lafayette 16.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
