Cajuns Comeback from 15 Down

November 19, 2004

Colorado Springs, Colo.- Unbelievable.

Louisiana-Lafayette bested UC Davis 73-72 in the opening round of the Radisson Inn Classic thanks to an improbable 15-point comeback.

True freshman point guard Domonique Thomas hit a game-winning free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation after the Aggies Kimberly Smith had tied the game with three seconds left.

Thomas received the inbounds pass from Tiffany Washington and was fouled by Lara Gray, as Gray mistakenly believed the Aggies were still trailing and needed to foul.

Thomas hit the first free throw and then intentionally missed the second as UC Davis had no timeouts and could not stop the clock.

The win sends the Cajuns to the championship game against Montana State, while the loss sends the Aggies to the consolation game against the host Air Force Falcons.

Trailing 54-39 with 12 minutes to play, and shooting only 25 percent, the Cajuns were left for dead to the Clune Arena crowd, as UC Davis was in command shooting 54 percent from the floor.

UL then went on a 13-0 tear to get within a basket.

Anna Petrakova hit a jumper before the second media timeout of the half. Following the timeout, the Cajuns full court pressure started to unravel the Aggies.

Alex Kotta scored three of the Cajuns next four baskets, including two in a six-second span. Ashley Blanche finished the run with a three-pointer, her only basket of the game, to cut the UC Davis lead to 54-52 with 7:57 remaining.

The Cajuns took their first lead of the game on a Bernette Tolston triple at the 4:44 mark.

From there, the teams would battle for the next 3:20, changing leads four times. The Cajuns grabbed the lead back for good after Tiffany Washington blocked Ellen Porshneva's shot to start the fast break, but Gray grabbed the loose ball and put up a shot that was again blocked by Washington. Kotta took control of the loose ball and her outlet pass helped Thomas convert a lay-up to give UL a 68-67 edge with 1:26 left.

Kotta stole the ball on the next series and found Thomas again who was fouled. She hit one free throw, then grabbed a rebound on the defensive end and found Tolston who converted a lay-up to push the Cajuns lead to four with 33 seconds remaining.

Smith quickly nailed a long three-pointer to cut the UC Davis deficit to one, but Thomas made another free throw to up the lead to two.

Smith tied the game, before Gray fouled Thomas to set-up the winning free throw.

Kotta led the Cajuns with 22 points in 26 minutes. Petrakova chipped in 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Blanche led all players and tied a career-high with 10 assists, before fouling out with 4:30 to play.

Jackie Turpin led the Aggies with 17 points, while Smith added 16 and Gray finished the night with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

After a dismal 22 percent shooting performance in the first half, Louisiana found themselves down by 14 points heading into the second half. Petrakova was 4-of-5 from the floor in the first half, while the rest of the Cajuns made just 5-of-36 attempts.

By contrast, UL shot 52.6 percent in the second half to outscore UC Davis 51-36.

The Cajuns were in a 10-0 hole to open the game after missing their first seven shots from the floor. Sonora Edwards hit a pair of baskets and then Tolston found a three-pointer to cut the lead to 13-7, but UC Davis had the hot hand.

Gray's basket pushed the UC Davis lead up to 20-7, with the Aggies hitting 8-of-10 from the floor.

Petrakova scored eight straight points for the Cajuns to trim the UC Davis lead to 24-15 with 9:11 left in the first half.

More than four minutes passed before Onna Charles scored for the Cajuns, only their seventh basket on 30 attempts. UL trailed 28-17 with 5:00 on the clock.

Edwards connected on a three-point play before Petrakova's nifty move inside closed the Cajuns to seven, 29-22 with 3:05 remaining.

UL would not score again in the half, as the Aggies used a 7-0 run to close the half up 36-22.

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