On Wednesday evening, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball hosted the South Alabama Jaguars in the regular season home finale. The Jaguars led for the majority of the game but the Cajuns took over in the fourth quarter, completing the comeback to defeat South Alabama 52-46. The win improved the Vermilion and White’s record to 13-14 and 9-8 in Sun Belt Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
South Alabama jumped out to an early, going up 7-2 in the first two minutes. The Jaguars converted four free throws and Chrysta Narcisse knocked down a left-wing three. The lone basket for Louisiana was a turnaround jumper by Erica Lafayette.
The Cajuns then cut it to a one-point game, scoring six of the next eight points before a two-minute dry spell by both teams. Over those two minutes, there were five missed shots and a pair of turnovers. That scoring drought ended when the Jaguars hit back-to-back shots from behind the arc with Daniela Gonzalez and Michiyah Simmons each making a shot.
Lafayette would hit one more shot before the first quarter’s end as the Cajuns would head into the second with an 18-12 deficit.
Nubia Benedith was a source of offense for the Vermilion and White early on, knocking down four of her first five shots by the midway point of the second quarter and leading the team with eight points through the first 15 minutes. Those baskets cut it to a four-point game before Amyria Walker hit her team’s fourth three of the half.
It was even scoring over the final three and a half minutes of the quarter as Simmons scored five straight points for the Jaguars, including an and-one layup. The Louisiana defense would buckle down and hold South Alabama scoreless over the final 150 seconds as Lafayette found Tamiah Robinson for the top-of-the-key three. That would be the lone basket for the rest of the half and the Cajuns went into the break down 30-25.
Neither team could gain much of an edge after returning from the locker rooms. Robinson and Benedith scored before the Jaguars scored five straight to take a nine-point advantage less than three minutes into the third. Gonzalez and Narcisse scored on layups with Narcisse converting from the free throw line with the and-one opportunity.
Louisiana responded by going on an 11-4 run to end the third quarter. Kamryn Jones muscled her way into the pain for a three-point play and Lanay Wheaton hit a midrange jumper. Robinson then stopped and popped from about nine feet out before Skylah Travis made both of her free throws and Benedith added one more to her total before the buzzer. The Cajuns headed into the fourth down 42-40.
With 6:15 remaining in the game, Lafayette gave the Cajuns their first lead since the 6:04 mark of the first quarter when she knocked down both shots from the free throw line. Travis then pushed it to a three-point lead with a layup after Robinson found her for the open shot.
It was all Cajuns the rest of the way. Lafayette, Benedith, and Robinson combined to score nine of the final 13 points in the game over the final three minutes. Rachel Legget scored South Alabama’s final four points late but it wasn’t enough as Louisiana won 55-48 on Wednesday in the regular season home finale. The victory moved Vermilion and White’s record up to 13-14 and 9-8 in Sun Belt play.
BIG NUMBER: 5
The South Alabama Jaguars were held to just three points over the final 7:24, allowing a single layup and free throw. The lack of scoring from South Al allowed Louisiana to take their first lead and they did just that as the Cajuns outscored them 13-5 to earn their 13th win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Nubia Benedith
Benedith was the game’s leading scoring, putting up points in every quarter and finishing with 16 on 7-12. The senior guard out of Palm Bay, Florida also grabbed six rebounds (three offensive) as the Cajuns overcame a nine-point deficit to defeat the Jaguars 55-48 to improve to 13-14 on the season and 9-8 in conference play.
UP NEXT: The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team will close out the regular season on the road when they travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to take on Southern Miss. Tip-off in Reed Green Coliseum is set for 5:00 pm on Friday, February 28th.
