University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, February 1
Hattiesburg, Miss.
6:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
48
at
55
Southern Miss
Comeback Falls Short As Cajuns Fall at USM, 55-48
2/1/2024 8:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Solid defensive effort from floor not enough in 37-11 disparity at FT line
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team held Southern Miss to a frigid 28 percent from the floor for its best defensive effort from the floor this season, but the Golden Eagles benefited from a huge disparity at the free throw line in claiming a 55-48 Sun Belt Conference victory on Thursday at Reed Green Coliseum.
Louisiana (8-11, 4-6 SBC), playing the first of four straight games on the road, had its two-game win streak snapped as it went 18-for-54 (33.3 percent) from the floor and committed 18 turnovers. Southern Miss (11-9, 4-6 SBC), which was held to 14-for-50 (28.0 percent) from the floor and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc, was 27-for-37 from the free throw line while the Cajuns finished 7-for-11.
USM scored the game's first five points and kept Louisiana scoreless until Nubia Benedith's jumper with 5:26 remaining in the first quarter. The Ragin' Cajuns closed to within 7-5 as Brandi Williams drained her first of four 3-pointers on the night before a pair of buckets by USM's Domonique Davis would give the Golden Eagles an eventual 11-9 lead after the first quarter.
A bucket and a pair of free throws by Melyia Grayson would stretch USM's lead to 15-9 to start the second period before the Golden Eagles would take a 22-16 lead into the locker room.
Louisiana would go scoreless for 6:15 into the second half as Southern Miss would build a 30-16 lead on a pair of free throws by Ashja Leake at the 4:00 mark. The Ragin' Cajuns would erupt for nine straight points over the next 1:32 as Williams would convert on a four-point play, Benedith would add a tough jumper and Williams would add her third 3-pointer of the night to cut the deficit to 30-25 with 2:28 remaining.
The Golden Eagles would push the lead to 33-25 with three free throws and led 33-27 going into the fourth after Destiny Rice's bucket for the Cajuns to close out the quarter.
Alicia Blanton, who scored all 10 of her points in the final stanza, connected on a 3-pointer and driving layup for Louisiana to close the gap to with 35-32 with 7:21 left, but USM would respond with an 8-2 run over the next 3:31 with Brikayla Gray giving the Golden Eagles a 43-34 lead on a pair of free throws with 3:50 left.
Grayson led USM with 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Davis added 13 points. Lani Cornfield chipped in with 10 points for the Golden Eagles while Gray pulled down 15 rebounds as USM led on the glass, 49-31.
Williams led all scorers with 16 points before fouling out in the final minute. Blanton finished 4-for-7 from the floor for Louisiana while Benedith and Tamera Johnson each scored six points.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana continues its four-game road trip on Saturday (Feb. 3) at ULM before heading to Huntington, West Virginia, to face league-leading Marshall on Feb. 7.
The Cajuns close out the 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 (Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsWBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Women's Basketball.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
Louisiana (8-11, 4-6 SBC), playing the first of four straight games on the road, had its two-game win streak snapped as it went 18-for-54 (33.3 percent) from the floor and committed 18 turnovers. Southern Miss (11-9, 4-6 SBC), which was held to 14-for-50 (28.0 percent) from the floor and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc, was 27-for-37 from the free throw line while the Cajuns finished 7-for-11.
USM scored the game's first five points and kept Louisiana scoreless until Nubia Benedith's jumper with 5:26 remaining in the first quarter. The Ragin' Cajuns closed to within 7-5 as Brandi Williams drained her first of four 3-pointers on the night before a pair of buckets by USM's Domonique Davis would give the Golden Eagles an eventual 11-9 lead after the first quarter.
A bucket and a pair of free throws by Melyia Grayson would stretch USM's lead to 15-9 to start the second period before the Golden Eagles would take a 22-16 lead into the locker room.
Louisiana would go scoreless for 6:15 into the second half as Southern Miss would build a 30-16 lead on a pair of free throws by Ashja Leake at the 4:00 mark. The Ragin' Cajuns would erupt for nine straight points over the next 1:32 as Williams would convert on a four-point play, Benedith would add a tough jumper and Williams would add her third 3-pointer of the night to cut the deficit to 30-25 with 2:28 remaining.
The Golden Eagles would push the lead to 33-25 with three free throws and led 33-27 going into the fourth after Destiny Rice's bucket for the Cajuns to close out the quarter.
Alicia Blanton, who scored all 10 of her points in the final stanza, connected on a 3-pointer and driving layup for Louisiana to close the gap to with 35-32 with 7:21 left, but USM would respond with an 8-2 run over the next 3:31 with Brikayla Gray giving the Golden Eagles a 43-34 lead on a pair of free throws with 3:50 left.
Grayson led USM with 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Davis added 13 points. Lani Cornfield chipped in with 10 points for the Golden Eagles while Gray pulled down 15 rebounds as USM led on the glass, 49-31.
Williams led all scorers with 16 points before fouling out in the final minute. Blanton finished 4-for-7 from the floor for Louisiana while Benedith and Tamera Johnson each scored six points.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana continues its four-game road trip on Saturday (Feb. 3) at ULM before heading to Huntington, West Virginia, to face league-leading Marshall on Feb. 7.
The Cajuns close out the 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 (Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsWBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Women's Basketball.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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