University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Centenary
Hot Shooting Helps UL Past Ladies, 90-74
12/12/2010 9:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Four Cajuns reached double figures as Jasmine Barnes led the way with 21 points in the University of Louisiana's 90-74 victory over Centenary on Sunday afternoon at the Gold Dome in Shreveport.
Louisiana (5-4) extended their win streak to two games by shooting 55 percent in the contest, connecting on 36-of-65 shots. UL also set season-highs with 19 assists and 15 steals. Centenary (0-7) was held ot 42.4 percent from the floor, shooting 25-of-59 from the floor.
The Cajuns' victory marked the most wins for UL at this point of the season since collecting 10 in December 2006. The 90 points in the game was also the most points scored by a UL squad since a 91-50 defeat of LSU-Shreveport on Feb. 15, 2005.
Senior guard Jasmine Barnes tallied a season-best 21 points, pulling in four boards and dishing out four assists in the victory.
Lyndra Bell and Kemi Rotibi each hit 17 points in the contest. Bell knocked down eight shots in 11 attempts, recording two boards and two assists. The Lafayette product also recorded five steals in 36 minutes, setting a new career-best.
Rotibi, a native of Chicago, made a season best 17 points, pulling in nine boards and recording three blocks in the contest.
Also reaching double figures was junior shooting guard Krystal Motley. The Houston native notched 14 points with two points, and two assists.
Louisiana went on a 17-to-6 run in the final four minutes to take a10-point lead into the half. UL made 18 shots out of 34 attempts from the floor for 53 percent in the half. Rotibi had 13 points, while Barnes followed with 12.
There were 12 lead changes in the first half, while the Ragin' Cajuns managed 30 of their 40 points inside the paint.
Barnes scored the first six points for UL to give the Cajuns an early 6-5 lead.
Ne-Ne Cook drained a triple at 16:15 to help the Ladies hold a two-point lead. Cook then hit an inside layup to make it a 10-6 contest.
The senior Barnes again answered with a layup inside, cutting the Ladies' lead to 10-8.
Rotibi scored her first points of the night with a basketball to pull UL within one. The Chicago native then hit another layup to give UL the 12-11 lead at 14:40.
A five point run by Louisiana extended UL's lead to four at 10:47. However, the Ladies used another triple by Daniel to make it a 20-19 contest at 10:26.
Centenary took a 21-20 lead with a fast break basket with less than nine minutes to go in the half.
Motley drained a jumper at 7:12 to help UL take a 24-22 advantage. Centenary tied it up again with a basket inside. Barnes reached double digits at 5:35, helping UL once again jump ahead.
With four minutes remaining in the first, UL notched a 17-to-6 run to take control of the contest.
Motley picked a pass and ran down the lane to tally the basket. She also connected on the plus-one to give UL a 43-33 lead to close out the first half.
UL continued their strong play in the second half, despite allowing Centenary to trim the lead to single digits.
A pair of fast break baskets by Barnes helped Louisiana extend their lead by 14 at 16:45.
Nicole Morris drained a 10-foot jumper as UL made it a 55-41 contest. A five point swing by the Ladies made it a nine-point contest at 14:46. Morris finished with two points, three assists and two steals.
The triple by D'Mya Clay's at 13:26 helped Louisiana reach a 61-48 advantage. Centenary continued to battle, pulling within ten by draining their fifth triple of the contest. Clay drained two triples for six points.
Mercedes Johnson hit two more free throws as UL went up 68-53 at the 11:12 mark. Bell's two freebies at 10:41 gave UL their largest margin, 70-53. The Cajuns went up by 19 with an inside the paint basket by Johnson. The Houston native finished with seven points in four minutes of action.
Lafayette native Brandi Schambough hit a triple at 4:45 to give UL a 79-61 advantage. Motley followed with a triple and jumper to give UL an 84-61 lead. Louisiana added six more points to reach 90 points for the first time in nearly five years.
The Ragin' Cajuns return home Monday evening, Dec. 13, with a contest with Bethune-Cookman. The Lady Wildcats (2-3, 0-1 MEAC) have lost three out of their last four games including a 68-56 loss to MEAC foe Florida A&M. Tip-off for Monday's contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside historic Earl K. Long Gym.
Steve Peloquin will have live play-by-play coverage on ESPN Sportsradio 1420 AM beginning at 6:45 pm. Live stats and video will also be available online at Ragin Cajuns.com.
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