LAFAYETTE — Louisiana Women’s Basketball embraced the Education Day theme during Wednesday’s non-conference matchup against McNeese State, putting on a clinic with a season-high 28 points in the first quarter and 27 made free throws over the course of the game to cruise past the Cowgirls, 80-48.
A victory was never in doubt for Louisiana (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt), which led for 39:34 after Ty’Reona Doucet opened the scoring 26 seconds into the contest. The Ragin’ Cajuns eventually went up 40-15 at halftime, its largest halftime advantage since leading Dillard 50-16 at the break on Dec. 12, 2015.
The 32-point win marked the team’s largest in the series, which dates back to 1972, and helped the Ragin’ Cajuns extend their winning streak over the Cowgirls to six games.
Eleven different players scored in the victory, led by Makayia Hallmon’s career-high 16 points. Hallmon has now scored in double figures in the team’s first two contests after posting 14 points against North Texas on Dec. 4. Destiny McAfee and Brandi Williams joining her in double figures with 10 points apiece.
Louisiana finished the game shooting 48 percent (24-for-50) from the floor and 75 percent (5-for-9) from behind the arc, both season highs, while the 27 made free throws were the most by the team since making 27 against Georgia Southern on March 10, 2020.
McNeese State (0-4, 0-0 Southland) kept things close early in the first quarter when it pulled within 7-4 after Divine Tanks saw her layup fall with 6:34 on the clock, but that was the only offense it was able to muster as Louisiana closed the period out on a 21-1 run to take a commanding 28-5 lead.
After shooting 81.8 percent in the opening 10 minutes, the Cajuns offense cooled off in the second quarter, but there was no harm done as the defense continued to thrive and helped Louisiana get to the locker room ahead, 40-15.
Williams scored seven of her 10 points in the third quarter to continue to increase the home team’s advantage, which grew to 60-30 by the end of the period.
Louisiana doubled its first-half point total in the second half, scoring 20 points in each of the final two quarters. Williams and McAfee added seven points and six points, respectively, over the 20-minute stretch, while Alexandria Goodly, Diamond Morrison and Jomyra Mathis each added five points to complete the 80-48 rout.
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