University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, January 31
Huntington, W.Va.
12:00 p.m. (CST)
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
2-20,1-11Sun Belt
54
at
95
Marshall
18-6,9-3Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Louisiana
18
15
2
19
54
Marshall
26
21
22
26
95
Ragin’ Cajuns Lose Sight of the Thundering Herd in the Second Half
1/31/2026 8:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Louisiana remained in the battle until offense stalled in the third quarter
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – After the first 15 minutes of play the Louisiana Women's Basketball team had Marshall within its grasp, but a quiet stretch caused the game to slip away and the host-Thundering Herd pulled away for a 95-54 win on Saturday, January 31 at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia.
Imani Daniel's layup at 5:08 of the second quarter completed a 6-0 run by Louisiana (2-20, 1-11 SBC) that trimmed the Marshall lead down to 33-29.
The Ragin' Cajuns, though, collected only four points the rest of the half. The Thundering Herd (18-6, 9-3 SBC), which made 10 triples in the first half, came out of the media timeout with back-to-back triples returning the lead to double figures and kickstarting a 14-4 run the remainder of the opening stanza that stretched the lead to 47-33.
Louisiana shot 48 percent (14-of-29) in the first half and provided that Marshall could've been silenced from beyond the arc stood a chance to challenge the Thundering Herd in the second half.
However, the costliest stagnant stretch of the final 25 minutes for UL happened out of halftime as the squad has held without a field goal make the entire third quarter and was outscored 22-2 by Marshall to seal the final outcome.
The Ragin' Cajuns rediscovered their shooting rhythm in the fourth quarter closing the contest 8-of-17 (47%) but were unable to put a dent in the deficit as the Thundering Herd countered with a 9-of-13 (69%) finish.
The finish was a stark contrast to how the Saturday afternoon tilt began.
Louisiana threw the first punch with three consecutive made baskets during the seven-minute mark of the first quarter. Bianca Silva fed Marina Artero for a layup, hit a running jumper of her own and then Mikaylah Manley scored a second-chance basket at 7:03 to pull the Ragin' Cajuns ahead 8-6.
The Thundering Herd immediately answered – and their three-point shooting began to heat up – as back-to-back triples from Meredith Maier and Peyton Ilderton put Marshall up 12-8 at 6:32 and prompted a Cajuns timeout.
Another Maier three-pointer at 5:42 made it 15-8, but the Ragin' Cajuns fought back, lowering the deficit to 17-14 after a swipe and scored at 3:10. With free throws the Thundering Herd stretched the lead back out, reaching double figures at 26-16 before the quarter break.
Lily Ba ended the first quarter with a made basket and Manley started the second with one of her own slicing the deficit to 26-20. Marshall went back up double digits with a 7-3 run, but Louisiana remained within arm's length with the second six-point scoring spree of the opening half.
Marshall stole the momentum back with four more triples before the halftime break and went on to continue the trend of the home team winning the SBC matchups between the two programs since the Thundering Herd joined the SBC in the 2022-23 season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Manley picked up her 15th double-figure scoring game of the season and registered a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. It was her fifth straight game in double digits, a streak that began on January 17 at ULM.
Amijah Price posted six points in the fourth quarter to wind up with 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and collected two steals.
Artero, Ba, Daniel and Silva each scored six points to highlight a balanced scoring effort. All eight of the Ragin' Cajuns that took the court scored including Kahlen Norris who got on the board with the team's lone triple of the contest at 9:08 of the fourth quarter.
Silva recorded four assists giving her multiple dimes for the 16th time in the past 18 games. She pushed her team-leading assists total to 65 (3.0/gm).
In addition to a sizeable lead from three-point range, Marshall enjoyed a 29-8 edge in points off of turnovers as its defense turned UL over 22 times.
Led by Price's production the Ragin' Cajuns saw an uptick in bench points with 21. Louisiana battled Marshall to a 32-all deadlock on points in the paint.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana wraps up its string of five straight games against eastern-based SBC teams on Wednesday, February 4 at the Cajundome when Old Dominion visits for a 6:00 p.m. contest.
Following the brief stop back home, the Ragin' Cajuns are back on the road on Saturday, February 7 for Round 2 of the MAC-SBC Challenge in Akron, Ohio to meet the Zips for an 11:00 a.m. (CST) tilt.
Coverage of both games is available on ESPN+ and The GOAT 103.3 FM and 1420 AM in the Acadiana region and Varsity Sports worldwide.
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.
Fans can support the women's basketball student-athletes, and invest in the program's future, through The Cajuns Edge Fund (click here) to contribute directly to the Louisiana Athletics and Ragin' Cajuns Athletic Foundation's revenue-sharing initiative or by joining the Assist Club (click here).
Imani Daniel's layup at 5:08 of the second quarter completed a 6-0 run by Louisiana (2-20, 1-11 SBC) that trimmed the Marshall lead down to 33-29.
The Ragin' Cajuns, though, collected only four points the rest of the half. The Thundering Herd (18-6, 9-3 SBC), which made 10 triples in the first half, came out of the media timeout with back-to-back triples returning the lead to double figures and kickstarting a 14-4 run the remainder of the opening stanza that stretched the lead to 47-33.
Louisiana shot 48 percent (14-of-29) in the first half and provided that Marshall could've been silenced from beyond the arc stood a chance to challenge the Thundering Herd in the second half.
However, the costliest stagnant stretch of the final 25 minutes for UL happened out of halftime as the squad has held without a field goal make the entire third quarter and was outscored 22-2 by Marshall to seal the final outcome.
The Ragin' Cajuns rediscovered their shooting rhythm in the fourth quarter closing the contest 8-of-17 (47%) but were unable to put a dent in the deficit as the Thundering Herd countered with a 9-of-13 (69%) finish.
The finish was a stark contrast to how the Saturday afternoon tilt began.
Louisiana threw the first punch with three consecutive made baskets during the seven-minute mark of the first quarter. Bianca Silva fed Marina Artero for a layup, hit a running jumper of her own and then Mikaylah Manley scored a second-chance basket at 7:03 to pull the Ragin' Cajuns ahead 8-6.
The Thundering Herd immediately answered – and their three-point shooting began to heat up – as back-to-back triples from Meredith Maier and Peyton Ilderton put Marshall up 12-8 at 6:32 and prompted a Cajuns timeout.
Another Maier three-pointer at 5:42 made it 15-8, but the Ragin' Cajuns fought back, lowering the deficit to 17-14 after a swipe and scored at 3:10. With free throws the Thundering Herd stretched the lead back out, reaching double figures at 26-16 before the quarter break.
Lily Ba ended the first quarter with a made basket and Manley started the second with one of her own slicing the deficit to 26-20. Marshall went back up double digits with a 7-3 run, but Louisiana remained within arm's length with the second six-point scoring spree of the opening half.
Marshall stole the momentum back with four more triples before the halftime break and went on to continue the trend of the home team winning the SBC matchups between the two programs since the Thundering Herd joined the SBC in the 2022-23 season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Manley picked up her 15th double-figure scoring game of the season and registered a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. It was her fifth straight game in double digits, a streak that began on January 17 at ULM.
Amijah Price posted six points in the fourth quarter to wind up with 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and collected two steals.
Artero, Ba, Daniel and Silva each scored six points to highlight a balanced scoring effort. All eight of the Ragin' Cajuns that took the court scored including Kahlen Norris who got on the board with the team's lone triple of the contest at 9:08 of the fourth quarter.
Silva recorded four assists giving her multiple dimes for the 16th time in the past 18 games. She pushed her team-leading assists total to 65 (3.0/gm).
In addition to a sizeable lead from three-point range, Marshall enjoyed a 29-8 edge in points off of turnovers as its defense turned UL over 22 times.
Led by Price's production the Ragin' Cajuns saw an uptick in bench points with 21. Louisiana battled Marshall to a 32-all deadlock on points in the paint.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana wraps up its string of five straight games against eastern-based SBC teams on Wednesday, February 4 at the Cajundome when Old Dominion visits for a 6:00 p.m. contest.
Following the brief stop back home, the Ragin' Cajuns are back on the road on Saturday, February 7 for Round 2 of the MAC-SBC Challenge in Akron, Ohio to meet the Zips for an 11:00 a.m. (CST) tilt.
Coverage of both games is available on ESPN+ and The GOAT 103.3 FM and 1420 AM in the Acadiana region and Varsity Sports worldwide.
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.
Fans can support the women's basketball student-athletes, and invest in the program's future, through The Cajuns Edge Fund (click here) to contribute directly to the Louisiana Athletics and Ragin' Cajuns Athletic Foundation's revenue-sharing initiative or by joining the Assist Club (click here).
- www.RaginCajuns.com -
Team Stats
LA
Marsh
FG%
.373
.443
3FG%
.100
.366
FT%
.818
.720
RB
35
45
TO
22
9
STL
4
14
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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