Hard-Nosed Effort Helps Louisiana Overcome Marshall

LAFAYETTE – Erica Lafayette finished off her career-high 26-point performance with a three-pointer that forced overtime where the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team finally outlasted Marshall and claimed a 90-86 win on Thursday, February 5 at the Cajundome.

Lafayette's clutch shot, her last made basket of the game, capped off an 11-second sequence where the Ragin' Cajuns (10-11, 6-6 SBC) made up a four-point deficit in the final 35 seconds of regulation.

Trailing 79-75 after two Marshall free throws at 0:34, Ashlyn Jones made the second of two free throws at 0:31 then the defense drew a charge to quickly regain the ball at 0:26. After the inbounds pass, Tamiah Robinson swung the ball to Lafayette in the right corner where she stepped back and drained an off-balanced three-point attempt to even the score at 79-all at 0:20.

A missed three-point attempt by Marshall (7-16, 2-10 SBC) sent the contest to overtime where Jones made two paint buckets in the first 90 seconds of the extra session to keep the Ragin' Cajuns one step ahead of the Thundering Herd, the latter providing an 83-81 lead.

Jones again provided the lead with two free throw makes at the 1:29 mark, making it 87-85, then after Marshall's Aislynn Hayes missed the first of two free throw attempts on the ensuing possession it was Robinson providing critical separation with a triple at 0:41 that widened UL's advantage to 90-86.

The Cajuns had to make a defensive stop after two Thundering Herd free throws made it 90-88 and a turnover near half court returned the ball to the visitors. The defense forced a five-second violation, then Robinson sealed the win as she calmly sank two free throws with 0:06 showing.

The win returned Louisiana back to the top half of the SBC standings and into a sixth-place tie with Old Dominion ahead of the final six-game stretch which begins next Wednesday (February 12).

The Ragin' Cajuns snapped out of a two-game losing streak by knocking down 37 field goals on 54 percent shooting (37-of-69) and finishing with a commanding edge in second-chance points (21-11) and points in the paint (44-32).

Lafayette knocked down a game-high 11 field goals (11-of-17) in registering her sixth 20-point effort of the season. She began her march to her career-high points total by pumping in 17 points alone in the second quarter as the Cajuns rallied to take a halftime lead, scoring the team's last six points closed by a four-point play that created the 42-33 lead at the break.

Louisiana won the rebounding battle 35-30 and with a glaring 9-2 advantage in offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, keyed by six offensive rebounds from Skylah Travis, used 13 second-chance points to set itself up for the extra period.

Marshall used its three-point shooting to make UL fight for the win, hitting 11-of-30 shots from beyond the arc. The Herd connected on four treys in building a 20-point first quarter and later landed three more in the third quarter during a stretch where a 48-35 deficit turned into a 55-all tie.

UL's rebounding edge in the fourth quarter prevented Marshall from gaining a lead larger than four points after the 11th triple gave The Herd a 64-60 lead prior to the seven-minute mark. Travis and Nubia Benedith scored putback baskets on the Cajuns' next two possessions to forge a 64-all tie by 6:08.

Travis' big fourth quarter of three second-chance conversions and six offensive rebounds led to her first career double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. She finished the night a near-perfect 7-of-8 shooting inside the paint.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns continue their four-game homestand and briefly step out of conference play to face Miami University in the MAC-SBC Challenge on Saturday, February 8 at 2:00 p.m. in the Cajundome.

Saturday's game completes the second edition of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Louisiana looks for a split in this season's MAC-SBC Challenge, dropping a 57-55 last-minute heartbreaker at NIU back in November.

The Ragin' Cajuns also seek their first home win in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Louisiana dropped a 64-55 decision to Kent State in the inaugural matchup of the event in November 2023 at the Cajundome.

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.

Following the Miami matchup, UL returns to SBC play with the second half of its homestand facing Texas State and ULM on February 12 and February 15, 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 -

Hard-Nosed Effort Helps Louisiana Overcome Marshall

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Team Stats

Erica Lafayette

Skylah Travis

Tamiah Robinson

Nubia Benedith

Players Mentioned

Nubia Benedith

Ashlyn Jones

Erica Lafayette

Tamiah Robinson

Skylah Travis

Players Mentioned

Nubia Benedith

Ashlyn Jones

Erica Lafayette

Tamiah Robinson

Skylah Travis

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics