Brodhead leads TCHS to tournament crown
<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — Before Teurlings Catholic took the floor for the finals of the 2004 MidSouth Hoopfest on Wednesday night at Earl K. Long Gym, the Lady Rebels were being heckled.
A lady from the stands continually shouted the question, “Why aren’t you playing on your home court, Teurlings”?
While the lady may have been asking a rhetorical question, she received a simple answer from Lady Rebels senior guard Blair Brodhead, who signed a national letter of intent with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.
“This is my home court,” Brodhead said.
Brodhead didn’t just talk the talk, but went out and walked the walk by scoring 20 points in the semifinal victory over Carroll, before dropping 31 in a 46-41 victory over Glen Oaks to help the Lady Rebels win the championship for the second straight year.
It was the first time since Brodhead was six years old that she had played a game in Earl K. Long.
“I like this court,” said Brodhead after the game. “I don’t really remember playing here for biddy, but it felt good tonight. Knowing that I’ll be playing here next year, gave me that extra pep. It’s a bummer that Coach (UL coach J. Kelley) Hall didn’t get to see it.”
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Eric Narcisse
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After scoring seven points in the first half, Brodhead caught fire in the second half as she scored 11 points in the third and 13 in the fourth.
“Everyone questions Blair’s ability, but she doesn’t worry about that,” said Lady Rebels head coach Garry Brodhead. “She just goes out and plays. I knew she’d be excited about playing here.”
Brodhead was joined by fellow senior guard Laure Bordelon, who scored 10 points as the leading scorers for the Lady Rebels.
“We’re clicking better as a team right now,” Blair Brodhead said. “It’s not about how many points we score individually, it’s about winning. I just want to win.”
The Lady Rebels (8-0) defeated a solid Glen Oaks team which was led offensively by Kelly Stewart with 14, Shonderlette Paul with 13 and Brittany Helm with eight in the losing effort.
“Glen Oaks is a good team,” Garry Brodhead said. “I don’t know if anyone can beat them in 4A.”
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Lady Cajuns Back Home and Smiling
<blockquote><p align=justify><i>Hall’s women hoops team returns after successful trip</i>
LOUISIANA La. — It took the team 17 hours to get back home from Anchorage, Alaska, and Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun women’s basketball team was coming off a loss in the last game of a four-game road swing.
So why was J. Kelley Hall smiling?
Well, his team returned to Lafayette 3-1 for only the second time since 1990, they had one tournament championship trophy in tow, and they were within six points of the nation’s fifth-ranked team with 10 minutes to go in the finals of the Great Alaska Shootout.
His team is 61st in one of the unofficial RPI rankings this week, very likely the highest the program’s ever been on any power-rating list.
And, they’ve got four straight home games coming up, including Wednesday’s home opener against Centenary.
Why not smile?
“These kids expect to win now,” Hall said of his squad. “It hurts them when they lose. But our kids know now that they can play with good teams.”
The Cajuns opened the season with an eight-day, two-tournament road trip, and surprised many by winning the title of the Radisson Inn Classic in Colorado Springs, Colo., with wins over Cal-Davis (73-72) and Montana State (57-39).
Then, they headed further north to the Shootout, where they crushed host and defending champion Alaska-Anchorage 88-48 to reach the finals against fifth-ranked and unbeaten Stanford.
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Dan McDonald
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The Cajuns led in the final two minutes of the first half 29-27 before the Cardinal scored the last nine points of the half, and were still within 51-45 with 10:32 left before Stanford had a game-ending 16-2 run.
“We played two bad halves on the trip ... actually, one bad half and one bad 10 minutes,” Hall said. “The first half of the Cal Davis game we played bad, and then the last 10 minutes against Stanford we couldn’t score. They put three people around Anna (Petrakova) and we wound up three-for-20 on three-pointers in the game.
“Stanford’s very good, but we were more athletic than they were. They tried to press us and they couldn’t do it. But we missed some shots in transition. I don’t know if fatigue finally set in, but you could tell that it hurt them to not shoot well and lose because nothing was ever expected of them before.”
UL was 0-for-11 outside the arc in the second half against the 5-0 Cardinal, and is 3-1 despite shooting only 21.2 percent on three-pointers.
“Bernie (Bernette Tolston) and Alex (Alexandra Kotta) are better shooters than the numbers show,” Hall said. “We’re encouraging them to get in the gym and shoot, and when those two start knocking down shots that’s when we’re really going to go.”
Petrakova, the returning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, averaged 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds in the four-game swing. She was named Most Valuable Player in the Radisson tourney, and she and Ashley Blanche were both All-Tournament picks at the Shootout.
Blanche led the Alaska tournament in assists and scored 30 points in the two games, and finished the four-game swing with 29 assists and 12 turnovers.
“Her game has really matured,” Hall said. “She’s our third leading scorer and that’s a part of her game she’s never given us. And Anna was Anna ... if we can get the pressure off her and shoot it better, we can play with a lot of people.”
The Cajuns play four winnable games at Long Gym over the next two weeks against Centenary, Savannah State, Nicholls State and Prairie View A&M. The last time the Cajuns were 7-1 was ... well, never.
“Our kids are excited about the home opener,” Hall said. “We have a chance to do something that hasn’t happened around here in a long time. We’ve got four games at home that we can really work on some things, press and run, and play a lot of people,”
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UL’s Washington happy to be back home
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — As it turns out, you can go home again, and again.
Franklin’s Tiffany Washington returned to south Louisiana from Oklahoma State when her family needed her, and was a big reason Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun women’s basketball team posted a solid 13-15 record last season.
Listed as a senior, Washington trailed only Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Anna Petrakova in both scoring (10.4 points per game) and rebounds (9.0) for the Cajuns.
But instead of that being her swan song, Washington petitioned the NCAA to grant her an extra year of eligibility and she got her wish in time to join the Cajuns for their season-opening road trip to Colorado and Alaska.
It was hard to tell who was more elated — Washington or UL coach J. Kelley Hall — and the smiles haven’t faded yet.
Washington will join the Cajun women in taking on Savannah State at 4:45 p.m. today at the Cajundome.
“It was tough waiting,” Washington said. “I had to write a letter and wait to see what they said. “It’s a good feeling. I’ll graduate in May, and I needed something to occupy my time.”
Washington’s role remains the same. She rebounds, plays defense and lofts a timely 3-pointer now and again, in addition to counseling younger post players on the team.
“It’s pretty much the same,” Washington said. “I was able to stay in shape. As long as I did it on my own time, that was fine.”
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Bruce Brown
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Washington had a typical outing in Wednesday’s 67-42 home-opener victory over Centenary at Earl K. Long Gym, hitting 3-of-5 shots including a trey, and totalling 7 points in 22 minutes.
She and Petrakova will be able to get breathers this season with the additions of Sherita Anderson and Sonora Edwards. Anderson sat out last year, while Edwards is a freshman.
The suddenly depth-rich Cajuns will bring a 4-1 season record into today’s 4:45 p.m. game against Savannah State, the first half of a Cajundome doubleheader with the Cajun men.
“When we were recruiting Sonora, I told people she had a chance to be special,” Hall said. “She’s already ahead of Anna’s points and rebounds in Anna’s first year. I see her filling that kind of role for us next year when Anna leaves — that inside player who can step out and hit the outside shot. Sonora is not afraid to shoot.”
The Cajuns were sluggish in the early going against Centenary, hitting just 1-of-7 from the field. But the rest of the way they hit 23-of-42 from the field, 54.8 percent, and outscored the Ladies by a dominant 41-19 in the second half.
“We did look sluggish,” Hall said. “But I worked the starters hard Saturday, Sunday and Monday once we got back from Alaska so that didn’t surprise me. I knew we would be able to play a bunch of kids, and our defense gave us a chance early.”
Savannah State enters today’s game after a 62-56 victory over East Carolina, and Hall has an idea what to expect.
“They’re very athletic, like us,” Hall said. “They won’t be as physical as Centenary was, but they will pressure the ball. We’ll see three zones and a man-to-man.”
No matter the opponent or scheme, Hall’s Cajuns are stronger and better equipped to handle challenges now that Washington is back.
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Cajun 2-step at home ( Lady Cajuns )
<blockquote><p align=justify><i>Women avenge ’03 defeat</i>
LOUISIANA La. — Bernette Tolston had a point to prove. So did her Louisiana teammates, and the result was the Ragin’ Cajun women’s basketball team’s highest point total in nearly 15 years.
The Cajun women continued a four-game homestand in impressive style Saturday, jumping to a 31-point lead in the first half, leading by as many as 54 in the second half and finishing with a 95-47 win over outmanned Savannah State.
The scoring total was the squad’s most ever in the Cajundome and the most since coach J. Kelley Hall took over the program.
It’s hard to imagine that the Cajuns (5-1) lost to the Lady Tigers last year — 49-45 in overtime.
“We went there last year and it wasn’t pretty,” said Tolston. “We really concentrated on this game after what happened last year.”
Tolston finished with 21 points, hitting 5-of-9 shots from three-point range, and keyed a first-half stretch in which the Cajuns hit five out of six outside the arc and built a 32-8 lead 11 minutes into the game.
Even that margin might have been greater considering that the hosts hit only two of their first 10 shots and missed their first five tries from the three-point line. Tolston missed her first two treys — and then hit five of her last seven.
“At the start, I thought it was going to be another long game,” she said. “But this team keeps each other up. It turned out better than I expected.”
During the time that Hall had at least three of his starters on the floor, the Cajuns outscored the Lady Tigers (2-4) by a 78-18 margin.
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“It makes it a lot better when you can get off to a good start,” Hall said. “It makes it a lot more fun when you score baskets ... it makes every possession not as critical.”
The outside shooting also opens up the inside for the Cajun post players, who took full advantage. Anna Petrakova finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds in only 24 minutes, and tiffany Washington had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. And point guard Ashley Blanche had 17 points and seven assists with no turnovers.
In fact, the Cajun starters did not have a turnover in the first half and had only one turnover combined in the entire contest. That fivesome combined to hit 21-of-41 shots.
“It’s a huge difference when we can shoot it,” Hall said. “It lets us get our post players one-on-one inside, and just opens it up for everybody. We don’t have to have 25 points from Anna every night ... we’ve got a lot more weapons.”
Kermetris Hill and 12 points and Nicole Hunter 11 for the Lady Tigers, who shot only 24.6 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 52-31.
“This really was more like it,” said Tolston, whose squad has a week off before hosting Nicholls State next Saturday. “We always play better at home. That’s one of our goals ... not to lose at home this year.”
LAGNIAPPE: The women’s previous high in the Cajundome was 90 points against Texas-Pan American in 1988. The 48-point margin of victory was also the largest ever in the facility ... The previous high total under Hall was 88 points two weeks ago in the Cajuns’ 88-48 win over Alaska-Anchorage in the Great Alaska Shootout ... The last time UL was 5-1 or better to open a season was the 1983-84 campaign when the Cajuns started 6-0 and 13-2 on the wasy to a 22-6 final record — the best in the program’s history. -->
Hall’s Lady Cajuns thinking long term
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — It’s hard to imagine how a 95-47 victory could be more one-sided, but Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun women could have posted even more impressive numbers last Saturday against Savannah State at the Cajundome.
That wasn’t the point, though. Moving to 5-1 on the year was the point, and coach J. Kelley Hall’s squad did that with ease.
“The kids were looking forward to that game because they know they didn’t play well against Savannah State last year,” said Hall, whose squad somehow fell to the same foe 49-45 last season. “We only hit 3-of-26 3-pointers in that game.
“It’s also about postseason. We want to be in postseason and the kids understand that we don’t want to lose to a team with an RPI rating over 160.”
College basketball’s RPI rating was a recurring theme during Hall’s Monday press conference, something new to women’s basketball at UL.
“We’re going to keep talking about it, too,” Hall said. “We plan to be in a tournament at the end of the year (either the NCAA or the NIT), and we realize we have to keep playing well in order to do that.
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Bruce Brown
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“I had a four-year plan to get to postseason, but with Tiffany Washington coming back I’ve been able to elevate that to a three-year plan. I think we’re capable of doing that.”
The Cajuns have home games Saturday night against Nicholls State and next Monday against Prairie View, both at Earl K. Long Gym on campus, before a road game at SEC member Arkansas next Thursday.
“Our kids like playing in Earl K. Long,” Hall said. “We’ll still play five or six a year in the Cajundome, but if you get some people in Long Gym it becomes a homecourt advantage for us. It seats 1,500, and when you get 500 people in there it gets loud.
“If we get to the point where we’re averaging 1,000-1,200 people, then I feel certain the university will take steps to improve it. We’re getting a new floor in May, and we’re talking about adding chairback seating.
“We realize that we have to take care of our end of it. We have to keep winning. The kids went hard in practice this morning. Winning is contageous, and the kids expect to go out and win every game now.”
Not every game will be as one-sided as Savannah State, but maintaining that same intensity will assure success.
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