Thin Air Too Much for Cajuns

After a good first half, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns simply ran out of gas in the thin mile-high air, falling at Denver by a final score of 74-59.

Louisiana drops to 3-23 (0-15), while Denver improves to 14-12 (9-6). DU also increased its home mark to 7-1 in conference play. The Pioneers only home SBC loss came vs. Middle Tennessee.

UL falls to 1-10 in road games this season.

As was the case late last season, the Cajuns continue to play improved basketball down the stretch. Unfortunately, that improved play hasn't translated into any victories in 2009.

There aren't many times that a loss can be considered a good thing. Wednesday's loss might be one of those rare exceptions. The Pioneers victory vaulted DU into third place in the Sun Belt, swapping the team with South Alabama, who lost 90-64 at MT. The importance of the seeding temporarily pairs the Cajuns with the Jaguars for the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament. It keeps UL from a long flight back to Denver and away from DU's dominating home court advantage.

After a close first half, DU started the second half with a 12-4 run to take a 14-point lead.

The Pioneers' lead would eventually get as high as 20 points as the Cajuns were never able to cut their deficit under double figures.

UL shot just 19 percent in the first 15-plus minutes of the second half.

Mercedes Johnson led the Cajuns with 17 points, scoring 13 points in the first half. Alexis Green added 16 points, scoring eight points in the final 6:06.

Britteni Rice led all players with 20 points. The Pioneers dominated in the paint, holding a 41-31 rebounding margin and blocking 11 shots.

Second chance points went in favor of DU 19-2.

The Cajuns committed just 12 turnovers and had eight steals, but shot only 36.2 percent in the game.

Both teams started the game shooting over 60 percent. The Cajuns led early and often over the first five minutes, shooting 66 percent en route to a 13-7 edge at the 14:32 mark.

Back-to-back triples from Rice quickly tied the game, but Johnson hit a pair from the stripe to get the Cajuns back the lead.

A three-point play by Johnson pushed the Cajuns lead to 18-15, but an 8-2 run by the hosts gave DU a three-point edge, 23-20, with 6:31 left.

Two free throws by Amy Richard and a basket in transition by Johnson helped the Cajuns get the lead back with less than five minutes to play in the half.

Two more freebies by Johnson extended the UL lead to three points, 26-23, at the 3:37 mark.

An offensive rebound and put-back on consecutive possessions by Ashly Robinson preceded a triple by Andie Mason and a quick 7-0 run gave DU a four-point lead. Another offensive rebound and put-back in the closing seconds helped the Pioneers take a 32-26 lead at the break.

The Cajuns return to play on Sunday vs. New Orleans. The game will be televised live from the Cajundome at 5pm.

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