Full Strength Cajuns Lead Wire-To-Wire In 73-52 Win at ULM
MONROE – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Basketball team was back at full strength for the first time in over a month and it showed in a convincing 73-52 Sun Belt Conference victory over in-state foe ULM on Saturday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Brandi Williams scored 15 points with Destiny Rice scoring 12 as Louisiana (9-11, 5-6 SBC) never trailed in the contest and used a 17-0 run midway to split its season series against ULM (15-7, 7-4 SBC) and win for the 11th straight time in Monroe. The Cajuns’ 21-point margin of victory was their largest in a Sun Belt Conference road game since a 67-41 win at Texas State on January 2, 2021.
Jaylyn James, who missed Thursday’s 55-48 loss at Southern Miss, scored all nine of her points in the first half as Louisiana finished 26 of 49 (53 percent) from the floor and 9-for-18 from behind the 3-point line.
Defensively, Louisiana held its fourth straight opponent to 55 points or less by limiting ULM to 29.2 percent (14-for-48) from the floor – its worst of the season – and 5-for-29 (17.2 percent) from long range.
Louisiana led 8-4 in the first quarter before making its next seven shots from the floor to build a 23-10 lead. James, who played 10 minutes off the bench, hit a jumper for the Ragin’ Cajuns before Alicia Blanton, Tamiah Robinson and Lanay Wheaton each scored to give Louisiana a 17-6 lead.
Rice, who was 4-for-5 from the floor and tied a season-high with seven rebounds, scored on three straight buckets as Louisiana set the tone for the game going 10-for-15 from the field in the first period.
ULM closed to within 31-23 on Daisha Bradford’s 3-pointer with 3:45 remaining in the half. But that would be as close as the Warhawks would get as Louisiana went on an epic run to put the game away.
Williams, who sank three 3-pointers to tie Alyson Habetz (170, 1990-95) for fourth in school history, scored on a jumper to push the lead back to double digits, 33-23, with 2:50 remaining in the quarter before a layup by Blanton and 3-pointer by Robinson gave the Cajuns a 38-23 lead at the break.
Louisiana opened the second half scoring the first 10 points as Rice scored on a layup, Williams sank a 3-pointer, Robinson scored on a layup and Wheaton drilled a 3-pointer for a 48-23 cushion with 6:37 left in the third.
The Cajuns would push their lead to 68-40 on Williams’ bucket with 5:31 left in claiming their 19th win over ULM in the past 20 contests.
Johnson, Robinson and Wheaton each scored seven points in a balanced effort for Louisiana. Aasia Sam scored all six of her points in the fourth quarter for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who scored 38 points off the bench while holding a 34-23 advantage on the glass.
Jakayla Johnson led ULM, which was held to its lowest scoring output of the season, with 17 points with Bradford adding 15.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana continues its four-game road trip on Wednesday (Feb. 7) in Huntington, West Virginia, to face league-leading Marshall (16-6, 10-1 SBC) in a 10 a.m. CST contest.
The Cajuns close out the road swing on February 10 when they travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan for the first-ever battle with Central Michigan, which completes the SBC-MAC Challenge for the 2023-24 season.
The next home outings at the Cajundome are scheduled for February 15 vs. Georgia Southern and February 17 vs. Arkansas State.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin’ Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsWBB), Facebook (Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsWBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Women’s Basketball.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com.
