Cajuns Battle Back in Jonesboro, Edged Out In Overtime

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team's furious comeback from a 20-point, first-half deficit was spoiled when Kennedie Montue's three-pointer with 4.6 seconds remaining in overtime lifted Arkansas State to a 67-65 win on Wednesday, January 15 at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

The Ragin' Cajuns (8-7, 4-2 SBC) had held the Red Wolves (9-7, 5-1 SBC) without a field goal make for a four-minute stretch in the extra session and were seemingly headed toward completing the comeback a second time until Montue's heroics.

Louisiana was in position to snatch victory away from ASU largely due to running them off the three-point line in the second half. After the Red Wolves sank 10 triples in the first half to build a 37-17 lead, the Cajuns defense yielded only one in the second half.

UL reeled off a 25-4 run from the 1:45 mark of the second quarter through the end of the third quarter to catch up and grab its first lead of the night.

Trailing 41-32, Nubia Benedith began to assert herself scoring a jumper and four free throws in the final two minutes of the third quarter to charge the final push to catching up which was capped off by her steal and buzzer-beating layup for a 42-41 advantage.

When ASU pulled ahead 56-50 in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, it was Benedith stepping forward to lead another rally. She drove the lane to earn a three-point play at 1:25 and two more free throws with 41 seconds showing to give Louisiana a 57-56 lead.

The ball was in Benedith's hands again on the next possession with a tied score and she hit a running jumper with 4.7 seconds to give UL a 59-57 lead. ASU was awarded new life after a would-be Cajuns steal resulted in a trip to the foul line where a free throw lane violation afforded the Red Wolves an additional chance allowing them to even the score.

Crislyn Rose's pullup jumper at 4:12 gave ASU the first points of overtime, then the Cajuns defense settled in. Erica Lafayette provided the lead with a fastbreak layup at 3:34 and an offensive rebound at 2:28 that set up two free throw makes for a 64-63 advantage.

With the defense continuing holding, the Cajuns had four possessions to extend the lead but picked up only one free throw during the timeframe. It bought ASU time to find the winning basket from Montue.

Louisiana had its season-high tying three-game win streak snapped and fell out of the tie for second place in the SBC standings.

Wednesday's game was the first of two between the Ragin' Cajuns and Red Wolves over an eight-day span. The rematch is scheduled for Thursday, January 23 at the Cajundome.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Benedith sparked the Ragin' Cajuns rally by producing 19 of her career-high 20 points in the second half. She shot 10-of-11 (91%) at the free throw, providing the heavy lifting in UL's 24-of-31 performance (77%) as a team.

Lafayette reached double digits for the ninth straight game, scoring 14 points while shooting 6-of-10 exclusively inside the arc. Kamryn Jones was the third Cajuns in double figures with 11 points.

The game was a battle of two contrasting game plans for producing points. Louisiana scored 19 of its 20 baskets inside the arc and drew 31 free throw attempts while ASU relied on the three-point shot making 12 of its 23 baskets from beyond the arc.

The Red Wolves won the rebounding battle 50-38, which included 21 offensive rebounds, and held a six-point edge on second-chance points. ASU held a 12-2 advantage on offensive rebounds in the first half to key to limiting the Cajuns second chances to build a double-figure halftime lead.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana travels to Troy, Alabama for a matchup with the Troy Trojans on Saturday, January 18. Tip-off time is set for 3:30 p.m. from Trojan Arena.

Live coverage is available on ESPN+, the Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network (The Goat 103.3 FM/1420 AM and Varsity Sports app) and CajunStats.com.

It's the first matchup since the 2024 SBC Tournament quarterfinal contest won by Louisiana. The Cajuns look for their first regular season win in the series since 2021-22, Troy having won the last four scheduled contests.

Saturday's contest wraps up the first half of the current four-game stretch solely against Arkansas State and Troy. The Red Wolves and Trojans make trips to the Cajundome on January 23 and January 25, respectively.

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 -

Cajuns Battle Back in Jonesboro, Edged Out In Overtime

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Team Stats

Nubia Benedith

Erica Lafayette

Kamryn Jones

Jaylyn James

Players Mentioned

Nubia Benedith

Kamryn Jones

Erica Lafayette

Players Mentioned

Nubia Benedith

Kamryn Jones

Erica Lafayette

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