University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Middle Tennessee
MT's Perimeter Shooting Too Much for UL
1/8/2011 8:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The University of Louisiana women's basketball team couldn't stop the hot perimeter shooting of Middle Tennessee as the Blue Raiders made 12 three-pointers in the 84-62 victory over the Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday afternoon at historic Earl K. Long Gym.
Louisiana (9-8, 2-2 Sun Belt) forced 17 Middle Tennessee (12-4, 3-0 Sun Belt) turnovers, but the Blue Raider offense was too much to overcome. MT shot an opponent season-best 53 percent (32-of-60) against the Cajuns, while UL shot 41 percent (22-of-54) from the floor.
The Blue Raiders led by as many as 31 in the second half, but the Cajuns closed the gap to 22 to end the contest.
Three Ragin' Cajuns tapped into double-figures, including leading-scorer Mercedes Johnson. The Houston native notched her 14th double-digit game this season, scoring 15 points and corralling five rebounds. Johnson shot 7-of-16 from the floor for 44 percent.
Johnson's 15 points moved her to 12th all-time on the UL scoring list, passing Sonora Edwards' mark of 1,028 points. Johnson is just five points away from passing New Iberia's Onna Charles.
Kemi Roitbi had another solid evening tallying 12 points and pulling in six boards. Rotibi swatted away two shots, moving up her blocked shots total to 23 on the season.
Danyell Oliver reached double-figures for the first time scoring 17 against Southern Miss on Nov. 26. Oliver, a native of Belle Rose, racked up 11 points and two rebounds in 21 minutes of action.
Middle Tennessee drained four triples in six minutes and finished up with seven total in the first half to take a 43-26 lead at the break.
The Blue Raiders shot 53 percent in the first half (16-of-30) as UL was held to 39 percent (11-of-28) from the floor.
Guard Kortni Jones was 4-of-6 for the Blue Raiders, leading MT with 12 points. Johnson led the Cajuns with six points and four rebounds in the first half. Jones finished the game with 20 points. Middle Tennessee had four other players reach double-digits.
Jordan Luffman's triple put the Blue Raiders up 9-4 with 16:34 in the first. Anne Marie Lanning followed with back-to-back triples to make it a 15-6 contest.
Lyndra Bell snapped a three-minute scoreless streak for the Cajuns with a layup inside to make it a 22-10 contest with 11:27 left in the half.
A pair of baskets by Johnson helped Louisiana cut Middle Tennessee's deficit to 10.
Jones drained the Blue Raiders' sixth triple in the first half at 4:33 to breakout to their largest lead, 39-17.
Middle Tennessee used a 16-to-9 run to extend their lead to 22 with 4:35 left. The Cajuns added a pair of baskets at the half to make it a 43-29 contest.
In the second half, Bell added a basket and a plus one to help UL reach within 16 with 17:45 left in the game. Middle Tennessee used a 10-point run to open to a 55-29 lead.
Bell finished with nine points and three rebounds.
Jasmine Barnes and Johnson added back-to-back layups to help the Cajuns as UL cut MT's lead to 58-33.
Barnes, a senior guard from Baton Rouge, scored eight points with two rebounds in 25 minutes played on Saturday.
Johnson's jumper at 11:09 gave her the 14th game this season where she has reached double-digits.
Louisiana cut the Blue Raiders' deficit to 79-56 with 3:03 left in the game. The Cajuns added an 8-to-5 run to close out the contest.
Middle Tennessee edged the Cajuns in rebounds, 37-26. However, UL had 17 makes at the free throw line just to MT's eight.
The Ragin' Cajuns (9-8, 2-2 Sun Belt) resume conference action on the road next week with a Wednesday evening contest at Arkansas State (9-8, 2-2 Sun Belt) on Jan. 12. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 pm at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
