University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
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Cajuns Shoot Down UNO 68-49
1/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LAFAYETTE-Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns ran away with their second Sun Belt Conference game, defeating New Orleans 68-49 in front of 455 fans at the Cajundome.
The Cajuns grabbed a double figure lead midway through the first half and never looked back.
Two baskets by Anna Petrakova and three stops on defense in the first two minutes of the second half helped the Cajuns up their 15-point halftime lead to 19 points.
The burst came at the expense of Tiffany Washington, who picked-up her fourth personal foul.
Without Washington, UNO proceeded to attack the paint. The Privateers slowly chipped away at the Cajuns lead and closed to 54-41 with 9:37 to play in the game.
Sharee Glenn banked-in a triple as the shot clock expired with 7:53 to play, pushing the Cajuns lead up to 57-41. Petrakova followed with a jumper as the shot clock expired on the next series to give UL Lafayette an 18-point lead with under seven minutes to play.
Four points by Ashley Blanche after a UNO basket gave the Cajuns a 20-point lead, 65-45, with 3:38 left in the contest.
Petrakova led the Cajuns with 23 points and 10 rebounds, her ninth double-double of the season. Blanche tied a career-high with 14 points and added six rebounds. The sophomore point guard had seven assists to only two turnovers in 34 minutes. Washington scored 11 points and Glenn marked the fourth Cajun in double figures with 10 points.
Despite being outrebounded and committing more turnovers, the Cajuns pulled away thanks to 51 percent shooting from the floor as compared to 33 percent by the Pioneers.
The Cajuns started the game on an 11-4 run. UNO closed the score to 13-10 in favor of the Cajuns, but UL Lafayette used baskets by Petrakova and Blanche to regain their seven-point edge.
The Cajuns lead moved to double digits, 23-12, on a basket by Glenn with 8:20 left in the opening half. Hot Cajuns shooting offset the fact that UNO had almost twice as many rebounds as the Cajuns in the first 12 minutes of the game.
Five straight points by Petrakova pushed the Cajuns lead to 29-15 with 5:53 remaining. Following a pair of free throws by Blanche and a lay-up by Nakita Scott, the Cajuns took a 38-23 lead into the break.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
