University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, January 30
Boone, N.C.
5:30 p.m. (CST)
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
9-10,5-5Sun Belt
52
at
61
App State
12-8,8-2Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Louisiana
8
18
11
15
52
App State
16
15
12
18
61
Louisiana’s Fight Back Runs Out of Steam in Boone
1/30/2025 9:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Ragin’ Cajuns lone lead, claimed late in third quarter, expires in less than a minute
BOONE, N.C. – Nubia Benedith scored a career-high 22 points to provide the spark as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team worked to overcome a slow start, but App State withstood the effort and held on for a 61-52 win on Thursday, January 30 at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, North Carolina.
The Ragin' Cajuns (9-10, 5-5 SBC) shot 3-of-17 (18%) over the first 10 minutes and found themselves in a 16-8 deficit after the first quarter of play. The Mountaineers (12-8, 8-2 SBC) took advantage of four three-point makes in building the early lead.
For the next two quarters, Louisiana would steadily work its way back starting with a 9-of-13 shooting performance in the second quarter which trimmed the halftime deficit to 31-26.
The charge back began with Benedith hitting all three of her shot attempts in the first three-plus minutes of the second for six quick points that closed the gap to 20-16. Lanay Wheaton had the hot hand to keep the deficit manageable at the break, pumping in six points of her own over the final 3:56.
The Cajuns defense, which began to slow down App State in the second quarter, put a stranglehold on the Mountaineers early in the second half by holding them scoreless from 8:18 through 1:50 of the third quarter.
Louisiana then chipped away at and erased App State's 36-28 lead. Benedith hit a layup and three-pointer during the seven-minute mark to jumpstart a 9-0 run that was completed with Aasia Sam's fastbreak layup at 2:38 which put the Ragin' Cajuns ahead 37-36.
The Mountaineers, though, quickly turned the tide and put UL in reverse. A steal at 1:55 led to the first of two layups the hosts made during the one-minute mark, part of a 7-0 quarter-ending run that provided App State a 43-37 lead heading into the final quarter.
Untimely turnovers in the fourth quarter spoiled the chance of another Cajuns comeback. App State turned a steal into a three-point play at 6:25 to grow the lead to 50-41 and then after Benedith provided UL with a timely answer by draining a triple at 6:04 it was the Mountaineers with four points off of turnovers over a 26-second span that increased the lead to 54-44 with 4:37 remaining.
Tamiah Robinson and Benedith earned trips to the free throw line over the next minute making it a two-possession game once more at 54-48 with 3:31 to play. The Mountaineers countered with a three-pointer from Elena Pericic at 3:12, and the Cajuns could get no closer.
Louisiana fell on the road for the third straight outing and dropped to 2-7 away from the Cajundome. The loss prevent the Cajuns from inching closer to the Top 4 in the conference standings, remaining two games back.
App State extended its win streak to four games, upped its lead over UL in the SBC standings to three games and claimed the season tiebreaker. The Mountaineers defeated the Cajuns for the third consecutive meeting.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Benedith tallied the final 20 points of her career-high total (22) over the final three quarters. She was 5-of-6 from the field in netting 11 points over the second and third quarters as Louisiana rallied to take its only lead.
No other Cajun was able to reach double figures including Erica Lafayette whose streak of consecutive double-figure scoring totals ended at 12 games. Wheaton was the next leading scorer with eight points, boosted by the end-of-second flurry, and Lafayette and Tamiah Robinson each registered seven points.
Lafayette was UL's leading rebounder with a game-high tying seven boards, followed closely by Wheaton with six, as the Ragin' Cajuns out-rebounded the Mountaineers 34-31.
App State exceed its conference-play leading 43.5 percent field goal shooting finishing at 46.9 percent (23-of-49) and generated 25 points off of Louisiana's turnovers. Conversely, the Ragin' Cajuns shot 35 percent (20-of-57) and weren't able to force 20-plus turnovers finishing well-below their average with only 14 Mountaineers turnovers committed.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana completes its Carolinas road trip by traveling to Conway, South Carolina for a matchup with Coastal Carolina on Saturday, February 1. Tip-off time is set for 12:00 p.m. (CST) from the HTC Center.
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.
The Ragin' Cajuns will make their first appearance inside the HTC Center on Coastal's campus since February 2020. The last two scheduled meetings that were played occurred at the Cajundome.
The CCU contest is the last game before UL opens a four-game homestand at the Cajundome which keeps the squad at home through February 15.
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.
The Ragin' Cajuns (9-10, 5-5 SBC) shot 3-of-17 (18%) over the first 10 minutes and found themselves in a 16-8 deficit after the first quarter of play. The Mountaineers (12-8, 8-2 SBC) took advantage of four three-point makes in building the early lead.
For the next two quarters, Louisiana would steadily work its way back starting with a 9-of-13 shooting performance in the second quarter which trimmed the halftime deficit to 31-26.
The charge back began with Benedith hitting all three of her shot attempts in the first three-plus minutes of the second for six quick points that closed the gap to 20-16. Lanay Wheaton had the hot hand to keep the deficit manageable at the break, pumping in six points of her own over the final 3:56.
The Cajuns defense, which began to slow down App State in the second quarter, put a stranglehold on the Mountaineers early in the second half by holding them scoreless from 8:18 through 1:50 of the third quarter.
Louisiana then chipped away at and erased App State's 36-28 lead. Benedith hit a layup and three-pointer during the seven-minute mark to jumpstart a 9-0 run that was completed with Aasia Sam's fastbreak layup at 2:38 which put the Ragin' Cajuns ahead 37-36.
The Mountaineers, though, quickly turned the tide and put UL in reverse. A steal at 1:55 led to the first of two layups the hosts made during the one-minute mark, part of a 7-0 quarter-ending run that provided App State a 43-37 lead heading into the final quarter.
Untimely turnovers in the fourth quarter spoiled the chance of another Cajuns comeback. App State turned a steal into a three-point play at 6:25 to grow the lead to 50-41 and then after Benedith provided UL with a timely answer by draining a triple at 6:04 it was the Mountaineers with four points off of turnovers over a 26-second span that increased the lead to 54-44 with 4:37 remaining.
Tamiah Robinson and Benedith earned trips to the free throw line over the next minute making it a two-possession game once more at 54-48 with 3:31 to play. The Mountaineers countered with a three-pointer from Elena Pericic at 3:12, and the Cajuns could get no closer.
Louisiana fell on the road for the third straight outing and dropped to 2-7 away from the Cajundome. The loss prevent the Cajuns from inching closer to the Top 4 in the conference standings, remaining two games back.
App State extended its win streak to four games, upped its lead over UL in the SBC standings to three games and claimed the season tiebreaker. The Mountaineers defeated the Cajuns for the third consecutive meeting.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Benedith tallied the final 20 points of her career-high total (22) over the final three quarters. She was 5-of-6 from the field in netting 11 points over the second and third quarters as Louisiana rallied to take its only lead.
No other Cajun was able to reach double figures including Erica Lafayette whose streak of consecutive double-figure scoring totals ended at 12 games. Wheaton was the next leading scorer with eight points, boosted by the end-of-second flurry, and Lafayette and Tamiah Robinson each registered seven points.
Lafayette was UL's leading rebounder with a game-high tying seven boards, followed closely by Wheaton with six, as the Ragin' Cajuns out-rebounded the Mountaineers 34-31.
App State exceed its conference-play leading 43.5 percent field goal shooting finishing at 46.9 percent (23-of-49) and generated 25 points off of Louisiana's turnovers. Conversely, the Ragin' Cajuns shot 35 percent (20-of-57) and weren't able to force 20-plus turnovers finishing well-below their average with only 14 Mountaineers turnovers committed.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana completes its Carolinas road trip by traveling to Conway, South Carolina for a matchup with Coastal Carolina on Saturday, February 1. Tip-off time is set for 12:00 p.m. (CST) from the HTC Center.
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.
The Ragin' Cajuns will make their first appearance inside the HTC Center on Coastal's campus since February 2020. The last two scheduled meetings that were played occurred at the Cajundome.
The CCU contest is the last game before UL opens a four-game homestand at the Cajundome which keeps the squad at home through February 15.
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
LA
APP
FG%
.351
.469
3FG%
.211
.286
FT%
.800
.900
RB
34
31
TO
13
14
STL
6
11
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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