University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, January 27
Lafayette
2:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
8-10,4-5Sun Belt
59
vs
52
Texas State
11-10,2-7Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Texas St.
11
15
9
17
52
Louisiana
11
13
11
24
59
Louisiana Combines Defense and Offense to Generate Win Over Texas State
1/27/2024 6:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Both elements lifted Cajuns in the second half of rugged battle with the Bobcats
LAFAYETTE – The defense flipped momentum in the third quarter and two key three-pointers in the fourth quarter kept the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team moving in the right direction, resulting in a 59-52 win over Texas State on Saturday, January 27 at the Cajundome.
Trailing 28-24 and scoreless through the first two minutes of the second half, the Cajuns (8-10, 4-5 SBC) turned a series of four steals into scores during an 8-0 run that opened a 32-28 lead by 3:45 of the third quarter.
Ashlyn Jones' layup at 1:12 stretched UL's advantage to 35-30, but the Bobcats (11-10, 2-7 SBC) battled back to forge the game's eighth tie at 35-all heading into the fourth quarter.
Louisiana broke the final tie of the contest at the onset of the fourth quarter, with Tamera Johnson scoring twice during the eight-minute mark for a 39-35 edge.
After Texas State answered nearly 30 seconds later, it was Brandi Williams with a 3-pointer from the right wing – the first Cajuns make from beyond the arc – returning the breathing room at 42-37 with 7:11 to play.
A Jaylyn James three-point play at 6:13 and two free throws from Johnson at 4:33 moved the lead into double figures at 48-37. The Bobcats would get two quick scores following the post-media timeout free throws from Johnson to trim the Cajuns lead down to 48-42 with just under four minutes to play.
Similar to Thursday vs. Coastal Carolina, when UL needed a timely basket it was James coming through again. She drained a left corner triple at 3:43 advancing the lead to 51-42.
From there the Cajuns would lock down their second consecutive triumph from the free throw line. First it was Williams making a pair after a TXST triple lowered the lead to 55-49 and then it was James with 25 seconds remaining sinking her pair to make it 59-51.
Johnson and James with eight points apiece and Williams with five points combined for 21 of the Cajuns' 24 points in the final quarter, providing the surge needed to finally outlast the Bobcats. The Williams and James three-pointers were the only two made shots beyond the arc for Louisiana.
James finished as the game's leading scorer with 18 points, marking her fifth double-digit scoring game in January. Johnson joined her in double digits, collecting 10 of her 12 points in the decisive second half.
Williams' three-point make was the 163rd of her career, moving her into sole possession of fifth place in program history surpassing Sylvana Okde (162, from 2012-16). She along with Ashlyn Jones finished as the Cajuns' third-leading scorer with seven points.
Louisiana's ability to avoid committing shooting fouls led to the squad's distinct advantage at the charity stripe, shooting 19-of-24 (79%) as compared to just 5-of-6 (83%) for Texas State.
The Cajuns shot 48 percent in the second half (10-of-21) to recover and finish 19-of-46 for 41 percent overall, marking above 40 percent shooting for the seventh time in nine SBC games.
The fourth-quarter opening 13-2 run by Louisiana led to the largest lead for either team at that point in the game, after entering the fourth quarter having battled through eight ties and eight lead changes and neither team leading by more than five points.
With the win the Cajuns defeated Texas State for the eighth time in the past 11 SBC games, took the series lead in Lafayette at 7-6 and increased their overall series lead to 17-13.
Louisiana closed its January homestand with an even 2-2 mark and collected a second consecutive victory for the first time since the Nov. 18 home win over Nicholls and Dec. 2 win at UNO.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana heads out on the road for the next four games, with the travels beginning on February 1 at Southern Miss. That'll be followed by visits to SBC opponents ULM (Feb. 3) and Marshall (Feb. 7).
The Cajuns close out the four-game road swing on February 10 when they travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan for the first-ever battle with Central Michigan, which completes the SBC-MAC Challenge for the 2023-24 season.
The next home outings at the Cajundome are scheduled for February 15 vs. Georgia Southern and February 17 vs. Arkansas State.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsWBB), Facebook (/RaginCajunsWBB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsWBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Women's Basketball.
Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
Trailing 28-24 and scoreless through the first two minutes of the second half, the Cajuns (8-10, 4-5 SBC) turned a series of four steals into scores during an 8-0 run that opened a 32-28 lead by 3:45 of the third quarter.
Ashlyn Jones' layup at 1:12 stretched UL's advantage to 35-30, but the Bobcats (11-10, 2-7 SBC) battled back to forge the game's eighth tie at 35-all heading into the fourth quarter.
Louisiana broke the final tie of the contest at the onset of the fourth quarter, with Tamera Johnson scoring twice during the eight-minute mark for a 39-35 edge.
After Texas State answered nearly 30 seconds later, it was Brandi Williams with a 3-pointer from the right wing – the first Cajuns make from beyond the arc – returning the breathing room at 42-37 with 7:11 to play.
A Jaylyn James three-point play at 6:13 and two free throws from Johnson at 4:33 moved the lead into double figures at 48-37. The Bobcats would get two quick scores following the post-media timeout free throws from Johnson to trim the Cajuns lead down to 48-42 with just under four minutes to play.
Similar to Thursday vs. Coastal Carolina, when UL needed a timely basket it was James coming through again. She drained a left corner triple at 3:43 advancing the lead to 51-42.
From there the Cajuns would lock down their second consecutive triumph from the free throw line. First it was Williams making a pair after a TXST triple lowered the lead to 55-49 and then it was James with 25 seconds remaining sinking her pair to make it 59-51.
Johnson and James with eight points apiece and Williams with five points combined for 21 of the Cajuns' 24 points in the final quarter, providing the surge needed to finally outlast the Bobcats. The Williams and James three-pointers were the only two made shots beyond the arc for Louisiana.
James finished as the game's leading scorer with 18 points, marking her fifth double-digit scoring game in January. Johnson joined her in double digits, collecting 10 of her 12 points in the decisive second half.
Williams' three-point make was the 163rd of her career, moving her into sole possession of fifth place in program history surpassing Sylvana Okde (162, from 2012-16). She along with Ashlyn Jones finished as the Cajuns' third-leading scorer with seven points.
Louisiana's ability to avoid committing shooting fouls led to the squad's distinct advantage at the charity stripe, shooting 19-of-24 (79%) as compared to just 5-of-6 (83%) for Texas State.
The Cajuns shot 48 percent in the second half (10-of-21) to recover and finish 19-of-46 for 41 percent overall, marking above 40 percent shooting for the seventh time in nine SBC games.
The fourth-quarter opening 13-2 run by Louisiana led to the largest lead for either team at that point in the game, after entering the fourth quarter having battled through eight ties and eight lead changes and neither team leading by more than five points.
With the win the Cajuns defeated Texas State for the eighth time in the past 11 SBC games, took the series lead in Lafayette at 7-6 and increased their overall series lead to 17-13.
Louisiana closed its January homestand with an even 2-2 mark and collected a second consecutive victory for the first time since the Nov. 18 home win over Nicholls and Dec. 2 win at UNO.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana heads out on the road for the next four games, with the travels beginning on February 1 at Southern Miss. That'll be followed by visits to SBC opponents ULM (Feb. 3) and Marshall (Feb. 7).
The Cajuns close out the four-game road swing on February 10 when they travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan for the first-ever battle with Central Michigan, which completes the SBC-MAC Challenge for the 2023-24 season.
The next home outings at the Cajundome are scheduled for February 15 vs. Georgia Southern and February 17 vs. Arkansas State.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsWBB), Facebook (/RaginCajunsWBB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsWBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Women's Basketball.
Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
- www.RaginCajuns.com -
Team Stats
TXST
LA
FG%
.412
.413
3FG%
.313
.182
FT%
.833
.792
RB
29
29
TO
21
16
STL
7
12
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
9
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
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