University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Texas State
Defense and Rebounding Keys to Cajuns Victory in Season Opener
11/12/2006 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas- A relentless defensive effort and commanding rebounding edge were the keys as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team collected a 59-39 victory over Texas State here Sunday afternoon in the Basketball Traveler's Classic at the Frank Erwin Center.
The game marked the 2006-07 season opener for the Ragin' Cajuns (1-0). Louisiana-Lafayette won its season opener for the third time in the past four seasons and improved to 3-2 in openers under J. Kelley Hall.
Louisiana-Lafayette held Texas State to 22 percent (14-for-63) shooting for the game ? below 24 percent in each half ? and held a commanding 63-34 edge in rebounds.
UL was able to stretch its lead into double figures at halftime after cutting down on its turnovers. The Cajuns, who were guilty of 12 miscues in the first 13 minutes would commit only one in the final seven minutes of the opening half.
The Cajuns hit 6-of-12 shots after the seven-minute media timeout outscoring the Bobcats (0-1) 13-7 to post a 29-19 edge at the break.
Taking care of the basketball was the key to the Ragin' Cajuns pulling away in the second half.
UL would go 6:10 without a turnover to start the second half and it resulted in a 13-4 run which increased the UL lead to 42-23 with 15:08 remaining.
The Bobcats would close the gap down the stretch as UL went scoreless from the 12:06 mark until the 4:44 mark. TSU made three triples during the stretch to trim the Cajuns lead to 45-34 with 6:56 remaining.
Louisiana-Lafayette went back to its rebound edge to start the final surge which closed out the victory and the defense pressured the Bobcats into missing eight of their final nine shot attempts.
The Cajuns grabbed three offensive rebounds on a possession as the clock ticked under five minutes. Sonora Edwards collected the final rebound and converted the putback at 4:44 to make it 47-34.
The defense forced a stop on the ensuing possession and Alicia McDaniel fed Yolanda Jones who scored inside to up the lead to 49-34 with 4:15 left in the game.
A long-range, three-point basket by Whitney Dunlap with 2:12 on the clock pushed the advantage to 52-34 and sealed the victory.
Jones led the Cajuns with a game-high 21 points and completed a double-double by tallying 16 rebounds. The double-double was the 16th for Jones in a Cajuns uniform.
Edwards scored 11 points and was the leading force behind the UL rebounding attack. Edwards grabbed a career-high 17 boards and along with Jones had a team-best seven offensive rebounds.
Six of the eight UL players that took the court collected at least four rebounds.
The 63 team rebounds were the most since the 2004-05 squad grabbed 74 rebounds against Prairie View A&M.
Texas State was led by 11 points from Joyce Ekworomadu.
It was a slow beginning for the Ragin' Cajuns. UL committed turnovers on its first three possessions and had five by the first media timeout.
Jones scored the Cajuns' first points of the game on a fastbreak layup after a TSU turnover to even the score 2-2 at 16:46. The Bobcats answered and regained the lead after Ashley Leffingwell hit a three-pointer at 16:27.
A 5-0 run after the media timeout vaulted the Ragin' Cajuns into their first lead of the contest. At the 12:18 mark Edwards grabbed the loose ball off a missed three-pointer by Dunalp and converted the putback giving UL a 7-5 edge.
The Bobcats got a basket from Riley on the ensuing possession to create a 7-7 tie at the 12:03 mark.
TSU broke the tie with a Riley free throw at 11:36. The Cajuns continued to hurt themselves with turnovers as the squad committed turnovers on three straight possessions keeping the score 8-7 at 9:30 of the opening stanza.
The Bobcats matched their largest lead when Ekworomadu drove through the lane and converted a layup at 9:06 which put TSU up 10-7.
The Cajuns best offensive series of the half resulted in a 9-2 run which put UL in front 16-12 with 7:12 on the clock ? a lead the team would not relinquish.
Beginning with a Dunlap jumper on the right wing at 8:36 the Ragin' Cajuns would score baskets on four consecutive possessions. An Edwards three-pointer at the top of the key as the eight-minute mark approached returned the lead to UL at 12-10.
The Cajuns run would reach seven points when Jones grabbed a rebound on the defensive end and raced coast-to-coast for a layup pushing the lead to 14-10 at 7:46.
UL's second 7-0 run of the first stanza broke open a 20-16 contest. Onna Charles began the run with a three-pointer at the 3:10 mark.
Rebounding and the Cajuns relentless defense were the story of the opening half. UL outboarded TSU 34-14 (11 offensive boards) and held the Bobcats to 24 percent shooting (8-of-34).
The Ragin' Cajuns continue play in the Basketball Traveler's Classic in Austin on Monday, Nov. 13 as they face the host-Texas Longhorns at 7:30 p.m., in the Frank Erwin Center. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest (cable channel 38 in Lafayette).
