University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
* Florida International
Florida International Panthers defeat Cajuns
1/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MIAMI, FL - Louisiana-Lafayette remains winless in the Sun Belt Conference, as the Cajuns dropped a 79-48 decision to Florida International on Saturday night in Miami.
A 17-0 run by the Golden Panthers in the opening minutes of the second half spelled doom for the Cajuns.
The second half started with an offensive rebound and basket in the paint by FIU, then a three-pointer by Ivelina Vrancheva. A deficit the Cajuns worked hard to trim was up to 11 points, 41-30, in just one minute.
A media timeout with 15:27 left saw the Cajuns down 23 points. UL Lafayette committed five turnovers, not scoring a single point, trailing 53-30.
Cormisha Cotton, who hit the Cajuns for 18 points and seven rebounds last season, led FIU with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Cotton scored 18 points and grabbed eight boards in the first half. Vrancheva recorded six points and four assists during the FIU 17-0 run and finished the game with 12 points and 11 assists.
Sarah Richey and Sharee Glenn led the Cajuns with 14 points apiece, although both scored 12 points in the first half. Charlotte Green was held to three points, and now needs 42 for 1,000 in her career.
The Cajuns trailed the entire first half, but stalked the lead throughout.
Despite efforts by UL Lafayette to deny the Golden Panthers access to the ball inside, FIU did a majority of their damage in the post and on the glass. FIU out rebounded the Cajuns 39-25 including 18-10 in the first half.
Louisiana-Lafayette made their only series run trailing 32-20 late in the first frame. Five points by Glenn and four by Richey closed the gap to 32-29 with less than two minutes remaining in the opening frame.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
