University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, March 19
Lafayette
7 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
20-12
78
vs
56
UT Pan American
19-15
1
2
F
UT Pan American
27
29
56
Louisiana
25
53
78
Team Stats
UTPA
UL
FG%
.382
.509
3FG%
.267
.250
FT%
.667
.857
RB
31
36
TO
18
13
STL
5
12
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballPG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballPG
/ Women's Basketball
Second Half Surge Carries Cajuns Past UTPA In WBI, 78-56
3/19/2015 10:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Louisiana records first 20-win season since 2006-07; will host McNeese State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
LAFAYETTE – Kia Wilridge scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the second half and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns used a 26-6 run to pull away and defeat Texas-Pan American, 78-56, in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational on Thursday at Earl K. Long Gym.
Freshman Simone Fields scored 14 points for Louisiana (20-12), which went 20-for-28 (71.4 percent) from the floor in the second half and finished with a season-high 50.9 percent mark (29-for-57) for the game.
The win, Louisiana's first in postseason play, marked the first 20-win season for the Ragin' Cajuns since finishing 25-9 in 2006-07 and the third 20-win season in school history. Louisiana will face No. 6-seed McNeese State (18-13), an 86-70 winner over No. 3-seeded Furman, in the second round on Saturday in a 7 p.m. contest at Earl K. Long Gym.
General admission tickets are $10 for adults with the first 500 UL students, with a valid University I.D., admitted free, courtesy of Coca Cola – the official soft drink of the Ragin' Cajuns. All UL students who attend will receive a free hot dog and soft drink, courtesy of Sodexo, while supplies last.
Keke Veal added 12 points for the Ragin' Cajuns, the No. 2 seed in the West Region, with Jaylyn Gordon adding 11. Adrienne Prejean and Gabby Alexander added eight points each for Louisiana, with Prejean pulling a season-high tying nine rebounds.
UTPA (19-15) led 27-21 on a pair of free throws by T'Ondria Nolen with 1:08 remaining in the first half and 40-35 on a layup by Hildur Kjartansdottir with 13:39 remaining before Louisiana fought back to take the lead. A 3-pointer by Robbie Brown tied the game at 43-43 with 11:16 remaining and the Ragin' Cajuns would build a 50-45 lead after a layup by Wilridge with 9:42 left.
A bucket by Brittany Bush got the Broncs to within 52-50 with 8:36 remaining, but UTPA would go 1-for-9 from the floor down the stretch with five turnovers while Louisiana pulled away behind a 9-for-12 performance from the floor.
Buckets by Gordon and Brown pushed Louisiana's lead to 56-50 before a 14-0 run after a bucket by UTPA's Stephanie Onyeje turned a 56-52 game into a 70-52 contest. Wilridge opened the run with a three-point play with 6:18 remaining before a bucket by Veal and a 3-pointer by Gordon pushed Louisiana's lead to 64-52. Veal added a pair of free throws before layups by Gordon and Wilridge gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 70-52 lead with 4:03 left.
The first half saw seven tied and six lead changes before UTPA used a 7-0 run to stage an early five-point lead. Bush, who recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, tied the game at 19-19 with a layup with 5:44 remaining in the half before four straight points from Cha'zaye Wright and a free throw by Bush gave UTPA a 24-19 lead.
The Broncs led 27-21 after Nolen sank a pair of free throws, but Louisiana closed out the half as Brown sank a jumper and Wilridge sank a pair of free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining in the half.
Bush finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for UTPA after being held to 1-for-6 from the floor in the second half. Wright and Rickell Preston scored eight points each for UTPA, which was making its first-ever postseason appearance after falling in the championship game of the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.
UTPA finished 21-for-55 (38.2 percent) from the floor and 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) from behind the 3-point line. The Broncs finished with 18 turnovers and were outscored in the paint by the Ragin' Cajuns, 42-18.
Freshman Simone Fields scored 14 points for Louisiana (20-12), which went 20-for-28 (71.4 percent) from the floor in the second half and finished with a season-high 50.9 percent mark (29-for-57) for the game.
The win, Louisiana's first in postseason play, marked the first 20-win season for the Ragin' Cajuns since finishing 25-9 in 2006-07 and the third 20-win season in school history. Louisiana will face No. 6-seed McNeese State (18-13), an 86-70 winner over No. 3-seeded Furman, in the second round on Saturday in a 7 p.m. contest at Earl K. Long Gym.
General admission tickets are $10 for adults with the first 500 UL students, with a valid University I.D., admitted free, courtesy of Coca Cola – the official soft drink of the Ragin' Cajuns. All UL students who attend will receive a free hot dog and soft drink, courtesy of Sodexo, while supplies last.
Keke Veal added 12 points for the Ragin' Cajuns, the No. 2 seed in the West Region, with Jaylyn Gordon adding 11. Adrienne Prejean and Gabby Alexander added eight points each for Louisiana, with Prejean pulling a season-high tying nine rebounds.
UTPA (19-15) led 27-21 on a pair of free throws by T'Ondria Nolen with 1:08 remaining in the first half and 40-35 on a layup by Hildur Kjartansdottir with 13:39 remaining before Louisiana fought back to take the lead. A 3-pointer by Robbie Brown tied the game at 43-43 with 11:16 remaining and the Ragin' Cajuns would build a 50-45 lead after a layup by Wilridge with 9:42 left.
A bucket by Brittany Bush got the Broncs to within 52-50 with 8:36 remaining, but UTPA would go 1-for-9 from the floor down the stretch with five turnovers while Louisiana pulled away behind a 9-for-12 performance from the floor.
Buckets by Gordon and Brown pushed Louisiana's lead to 56-50 before a 14-0 run after a bucket by UTPA's Stephanie Onyeje turned a 56-52 game into a 70-52 contest. Wilridge opened the run with a three-point play with 6:18 remaining before a bucket by Veal and a 3-pointer by Gordon pushed Louisiana's lead to 64-52. Veal added a pair of free throws before layups by Gordon and Wilridge gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 70-52 lead with 4:03 left.
The first half saw seven tied and six lead changes before UTPA used a 7-0 run to stage an early five-point lead. Bush, who recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, tied the game at 19-19 with a layup with 5:44 remaining in the half before four straight points from Cha'zaye Wright and a free throw by Bush gave UTPA a 24-19 lead.
The Broncs led 27-21 after Nolen sank a pair of free throws, but Louisiana closed out the half as Brown sank a jumper and Wilridge sank a pair of free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining in the half.
Bush finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for UTPA after being held to 1-for-6 from the floor in the second half. Wright and Rickell Preston scored eight points each for UTPA, which was making its first-ever postseason appearance after falling in the championship game of the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.
UTPA finished 21-for-55 (38.2 percent) from the floor and 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) from behind the 3-point line. The Broncs finished with 18 turnovers and were outscored in the paint by the Ragin' Cajuns, 42-18.
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