University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Middle Tennessee*
Cajuns Fall Seconds Shy of Claiming Win at MT
1/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Thursday, January 26, 2006
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns gave a courageous and valiant effort, but fell one-tenth of one second shy of victory on Thursday night in Murfreesboro.
Ashley Blanche's jumper at the buzzer was good, but officials ruled the ball was still in her hand as time expired, giving Middle Tennessee a 69-68 victory.
The win propels Middle Tennessee to 12-7, (5-1), and drops Louisiana to 14-5, (4-3).
The Cajuns, who trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, saw themselves down two until a three-pointer by Jeanenne Colbert with 30 seconds remaining.
The Blue Raiders had the ball coming out of a timeout with 23.1 seconds remaining, but the Cajuns had two fouls to give, and used both, giving MT the ball with 15.8 left.
Yolanda Jones, who led the Cajuns with 25 points and 15 rebounds, was whistled for a foul away from the ball with 11.8 ticks showing.
Krystle Horton sank both shots from the stripe, but Louisiana still had a chance after a timeout with eight seconds remaining.
Blanche threw the ball in to Colbert, who dribbled toward the top of the key but was quickly double-teamed and passed the ball back to Blanche. Blanche needed one dribble to shake a defender and then quickly launched the would-be game winner.
Colbert came of the bench to score a career-high 22 points. Blanche added 12 points and five assists.
Louisiana did nearly everything right on the stat sheet except for the final score. The Cajuns shot better than MT from the floor, had more rebounds, made more free throws and had fewer turnovers. The difference came from behind the arc. The Cajuns made 3-of-13 triples, while the Blue Raiders converted 7-of-15 from long range.
Chrissy Givens, the Sun Belt's leading scorer, led MT with 24 points. Horton finished with 21 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Two quick baskets from Blanche to start the second half cut the Cajuns deficit in half, 42-38.
MT responded with five unanswered, but Louisiana answered right back with an 8-3 jolt to get back within four, 50-46. Jones started and ended the burst with baskets, with Colbert and Blanche dropping in jumpers.
MT needed 1:16 to outscore the Cajuns 8-2 and grab a 10-point lead, 58-48, at the 12:43 mark.
The Cajuns fought back again. An 8-0 run in 1:34 put UL down just two, 58-56. It was Jones once again starting and ending the spurt. Jones' two free throws preceded three-point plays from Colbert and Jones.
A three-pointer by Johnna Abney, the Blue Raiders' seventh in 10 attempts, put MT up 63-58 with 7:14 remaining.
Neither team could dent the scoreboard over the next four minutes until Colbert's triple from the corner pulled the Cajuns back within two points.
An intense first half saw the Cajuns trail by as many as 12 points thanks to 17 first half points from Horton and 16 by Givens.
The lead changed hands five times in the game's opening seven minutes. The Cajuns held an 11-10 edge before a 10-0 run by the Blue Raiders. Two offensive fouls on the Cajuns and a traveling violation led to the hosts scoring bevy.
Colbert came off the bench to score the next seven points for Louisiana, cutting the MT lead to six, 24-18, at the 8:21 mark.
After another Givens basket, the Cajuns used six quick points, four by Jones and two by Blanche, to get within a basket, 27-24, with 5:33 remaining in the first half.
MT answered with a 13-4 run to take a 40-28 lead with 1:43 remaining. The Blue Raiders were able to capitalize from the free throw line during the run, making four from the stripe, while the Cajuns missed the front end of a pair of one-and-one attempts.
Louisiana, however, was able to outscore MT 6-2 the rest of the half to take an eight-point deficit, 42-34, into the locker room.
The hosts shot 55 percent from the floor in the first half, including a perfect 3-for-3 from long distance and 7-for-7 from the free throw line. The Cajuns shot well also, converting at a 48 percent clip.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
