LAFAYETTE – With the score knotted up at 26 at halftime, Louisiana stormed out of the gate with a 21-0 run over a 5:44 stretch to start the second half to help lock up a 68-55 victory and give the Ragin’ Cajuns their 11th-straight win over the Warhawks.
Saturday’s win marked the team’s third-straight in league play and its sixth-straight against schools from Louisiana this year. The win also improved the Ragin’ Cajuns to 6-1 at the Cajundome.
Junior Ty’Reona Doucet was a force against the Warhawks, recording her fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. On top of that, Doucet swatted three shots, moving her into sole possession of ninth place on the school’s all-time blocks list.
Louisiana (13-6, 6-2 SBC) did a good job sharing the basketball with 14 assists to a season-low six turnovers. Andrea Cournoyer, who scored nine points against ULM and leads the team with 51 assists this season, dished out a team-best four on Saturday.
Despite being outrebounded, 47-29, the Ragin’ Cajuns were dominant down low and outscored the Warhawks, 34-22, in the paint. The team was just as dominant on defense, forcing 22 turnovers and recording 10 steals to keep the Warhawks at bay.
Brandi Williams, who finished the game with nine points, sparked a 7-0 run to start the game for Louisiana with a 3-pointer from the left wing, but ULM was quick to respond with a run of its own before an Alexandria Goodly triple with 10 seconds on the clock gave the home team a 15-9 advantage after ten minutes.
The second quarter belonged to the Warhawks, which shot 41.4 percent from the floor and outscored the Ragin’ Cajuns, 17-11. Despite the two-point deficit late in the period, Williams stepped up to the line and buried two free throws to send the game to halftime with the score tied at 26-26.
After moving into a full-court press to begin the second half, the home team’s offense exploded for 21 unanswered points in the opening 5:44 of the third quarter to take a commanding 47-26 advantage. ULM responded well with an 11-2 run over the final 4:16 of the third quarter to take a large chunk out of the deficit and trail 50-37 with 10 minutes remaining.
Another big run by the Ragin’ Cajuns sparked the team’s offense in the fourth quarter and eventually put Louisiana ahead 66-42 at the 4:47 mark.
ULM was not going to go down quietly, though, using a 13-0 in the remaining time to close out the game. However, it was not enough as Louisiana won its third-straight game by a final score of 68-55.
With a bye date scheduled for this upcoming Thursday, Louisiana returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 1, when it hosts Little Rock at the Cajudome. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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