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Cajuns fall short in Battle on the Border opener 64-63

Posted at 11:13 PM, Nov 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-01 00:13:51-05

EDINBURG, Texas (PRESS RELEASE) – Louisiana Women’s Basketball (2-4, 0-0 SBC) put up a great fight at the end, going on a 13-4 run to finish the game, but the late run was not enough to pull out the win as the Ragin’ Cajuns fell to the Texas A&M Corpus-Christi Islanders (3-2, 0-0 SLC), 64-63, in the first game of the Texas Rio Grande Valley: Battle on the Boarder Friday night, at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

Sophomore center Ty’Reona Doucet contunied her torrid start to the 2018-19 season, finishing with 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds to record her sixth-straight double-double to start the season.  Louisiana had five, including Doucet, score in double-figures with sophomore guard Skyler Goodwin finishing with a team-high 13 points, sophomore guard Jomyra Mathis (10 points) and freshmen guards Andrea Cournoyer and Diamond Morrison each added 10 points to the mix.

Defensively Louisiana had 24 takeaways, including four in the final three minutes of the game, to help power the late drive.

HOW IT HAPPENED (First Half): A strong 6-2 start from Louisiana got the Ragin’ Cajuns off to a quick 6-2 start, but almost as fast as Louisiana had grabbed the lead AMCC responded with an 8-0 run and with 5:11 to go in the first quarter AMCC had taken a 10-6 lead.  Two quick baskets, started by Doucet, got Louisiana rolling and with 2:14 left in the period, following a jumper from Goodwin, Louisiana took a two-point lead 12-10.

But a quick 4-0 run by AMCC, gave the Islanders a 14-12 lead heading into the second quarter.

Twice in the second quarter Louisiana cut AMCC’s lead to three points, the last coming from a Cournoyer jumper shot at the 5:51 mark, with the score sitting at 18-15.  AMCC then began to extend its lead, going on a 11-3 run through the heart of the quarter and at the 1:29 mark, following a three-point basket by Torrionna Nesbitt, AMCC led 31-21.

Both teams traded a handful of baskets over the final 1:30, with AMCC coming away with a 12-point lead, 35-23, heading into the break.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Half): Louisiana came out of the locker room and went on a 10-4 run, led by Mathis’ two baskets during the first three minutes of the half and with 6:06 to go in the third quarter, the score sat at 39-31 with Louisiana having cut AMCC’s lead to eight points.  A strong stretch by AMCC, powered by a 10-2 run and four points from Nesbitt, gave AMCC a 49-35 lead with 1:13 to go in the quarter.

Louisiana would cut things to single digits, with Doucet hitting a basket with 37 seconds left and freshman Brandi Williams ending the quarter with a buzzer-beating three-point basket in the corner, putting the score at 49-40 heading into the final quarter.

Through the first five minutes, Louisiana attempted to cut into AMCC’s lead, but could never get closer then 10 points and with five minutes to go, AMCC lead 56-46.  AMCC’s Uri Jolivette hit a layup at the 3:40 mark to put AMCC up 60-48, it was at that point that Louisiana began its large charge at the Islanders.

Eight points by Morrison, a three-point basket from Williams and a layup from Goodwin, powered by four AMCC turnovers sent Louisiana on a 13-0 run and with a three-point bomb from Morrison, Louisiana took a three-point lead with 52 seconds left in the game and the score sitting at 63-60.  But AMCC responded and back-to-back layups from Tiara Matthews over the final 40 seconds gave AMCC the one-point win, 64-63.

GAME NOTES: Docuet recorded her sixth-straight double-double (12 pts., 11 reb.) to start the season; Louisiana had 24 takeaways in the game, which is a season-high and the most since Louisiana cause 25 turnovers by Arkansas State on Mar. 1, 2018; Louisiana had five score in double-figures for the first time since Mar. 7, 2017.

UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Louisiana wraps up its weekend in at the Texas Rio Grande Valley: Battle on the Border, on Saturday, Dec. 1, with a 7 p.m. matchup with the hosting UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros.  That game will be televised on the WAC Digital Network and broadcast on ESPN1420.

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE: Both season tickets and individual tickets for Louisiana Women’s Basketball are available for purchase by either heading to ragincajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at the CAJUNDOME, (337) 265-2357, or by visiting the office in person.

FOLLOWING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS: Follow the Ragin’ Cajuns on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@RaginCajunsWBB) to stay up-to-date with Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Basketball.