The Book: Lady Cajuns 2006-07 basketball

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Playing without its regular point guard and with a limited performance from its best player would be bad enough. Spotting Texas' nationally-ranked women's basketball squad 16 points from the free throw line made it worse. So it may come as a shock that UL held a 43-42 lead over the 25th-ranked Longhorns midway through the second half Monday night on the second day of the Texas Basketball Travelers Classic tournament in Austin, Texas. The Cajuns couldn't hold on, though, as Texas rallied in the final 12 minutes for a 69-59 win over a game-but-short-handed UL squad. "We're just short-handed right now," said UL coach J. Kelley Hall. "But our kids battled and hung in there." UL is without point guard Jeanenne Colbert, who did not make the season-opening trip as a disciplinary action, and had All-Sun Belt Conference selection Yolanda Jones play only two minutes in Monday's second half after an ankle injury in Sunday's 59-39 opening-round win over Texas State. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[Cajunpride101]

Close but no cigar.
Keep your chin up ladies we are proud of all of you and your day is coming!

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J. Kelley Hall had never seen anything like it. With 5:26 left in the first half of his UL women's basketball team's Tuesday game against Maryland-Eastern Shore, the Cajuns led 36-2. "I've never coached in a game like that," Hall said. Eventually, UL went on to a 68-36 win over the Hawks in its third and final game in the Texas Travelers Classic in Austin, Texas. The win locked up the runner-up slot in the four-team tournament for the Cajuns (2-1), with host Texas finishing 3-0 in the meet with a 74-55 win over Texas State Tuesday. The Cajuns held the Hawks (0-4) to a 3-for-33 shooting performance in the first half, and had a 27-0 run over a 10-minute first half run. UL led 41-8 at halftime. "They (Eastern Shore) were playing their fourth game in five days, and they were out of gas," Hall said. "They wanted to play, but they had no legs and just couldn't make any shots." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

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AUSTIN, Texas – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team completed play in the Basketball Travelers Classic at the Frank Erwin Center with its most dominant performance of the three-day event posting a 68-36 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Ragin’ Cajuns (2-1) scored the game’s first nine points and forced UMES (0-4) into missing 24 of their first 25 shots opening up a 36-2 lead 15 minutes into the game. The UL defense held the Hawks to 3-of-33 shooting in the first fame holding UMES to eight points and led 41-8 at intermission – the fewest first-half points allowed under co-head coach J. Kelley Hall. The Ragin’ Cajuns were able to take full advantage of a fatigued UMES squad which was playing its fourth game in as many nights and couldn’t keep up with the relentless intensity of Hall’s Cajuns. The victory assured the Cajuns of a runner-up slot in the Basketball Travelers Classic hosted by Texas. It also avenged a 60-57 loss to UMES in the 2003 Maryland Terrapin Classic. Onna Charles was the leading scorer for Louisiana-Lafayette for the second straight game. The junior from New Iberia scored 19 points made three 3-pointers in 28 minutes. Charles ended the tournament with 11 triples and a scoring average of 16.7 points. Sonora Edwards and Kina Miller joined Charles in double figures as both posted 10 points. They led the Cajuns inside domination which featured a 32-10 edge on points in the paint and a 27-0 margin in second chance points. Even more impressive of the Cajuns domination was that the performance occurred without the services of returning leading scorer Yolanda Jones. Jones sat out of the contest recovering from an ankle injury suffered in Sunday’s Texas State game. Rebounding was another strongpoint of the UL attack. The Cajuns pulled down 57 boards led by 10 from Charles. Alicia McDaniel added nine rebounds, Edwards had eight and Miller tacked on seven. The Hawks got a team-best 11 points from Kristi Veltkamp. The Cajuns defense forced UMES to miss its first eight shot attempts and used a 9-0 run to open a comfortable lead 5:27 into the game. A one minute blitz by the Cajuns broke open a three-point contest and the Cajuns lead was never any smaller. As the clocked ticked under 17 minutes Miller dribble into the lane and found McDaniel behind the defense for an uncontested layup that gave UL a 5-0 lead at 16:51. Charles would follow her miss on a three-point attempt and knocked down jumper at 16:02 pushing the lead to 7-0. The Cajuns game-opening run reached nine points on the next possession when the Cajuns went backdoor once more. Miller was at the top of the key and used excellent court vision to find Edwards behind the defense on the baseline for a reverse layup at 15:33 making it 9-0. The Hawks broke the run with an inside basket from Veltkamp at 15:08. Following the 15-minute media timeout the Cajuns began another run which left no doubt of the game’s final outcome. Miller started a 27-0 run when she grabbed a pass from Whitney Dunlap and backdoored the Hawks defense for a layup at 14:23 upping the UL lead to 11-2. The Cajuns defense would force the Hawks to miss their next 16 shots and Charles delivered the knockout punch. Charles buried three triples between the 13:40 mark and 12:05 mark as the Cajuns lead soared to 20-2. The UL margin grew to 20 points for the rest of the game only nine minutes into the half. Inside baskets from Edwards and Miller 25 seconds apart increased the lead to 24-2 with 10:37 remaining in the first half. A three-pointer by Amber Williams capped off the run and moved the Cajuns lead to 36-2 at 5:26. A triple by Candyce Jeter would be the Hawks first basket since the 15:08 mark and broke a string of 27 unanswered points by UL. The Cajuns defense backed off in the second half committing only one foul. Easing up allowed the Hawks to outscore the Ragin’ Cajuns 28-27 in the second stanza, trimming the halftime deficit by one point. The Cajuns largest lead of the night came at 14:01 when Dunlap made a free throw that moved the UL lead to 54-15. Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns return to action on Thursday, Nov. 16 meeting No. 10 Louisiana State at 7:00 p.m., in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge. LOUISIANA SI

[Turbine]

I don't care if the opponent played a game every day for a month, to make the opponent shoot 1 for 25 to start the game is an unbelievable defensive effort.

Watching the Lady Cajuns this year will be fun.

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Pokey Chatman would like nothing better than to take a day, catch her breath and get her LSU women’s basketball team back on the practice floor for some early season adjustments. University of Louisiana-Lafayette coach J. Kelley Hall can relate. Instead, both will be back in game mode when the Ragin’ Cajuns (2-1) visit the No. 10-ranked Tigers (3-0) at 7 p.m. today. Both teams will playing a fourth game in five days after playing in separate versions of the Basketball Travelers Classic. LSU cruised to victories against West Virginia, Howard and Virginia Tech at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. ULL sandwiched wins over Texas State (59-39) and Maryland-Eastern Shore (68-36) around a gritty effort against host Texas in a 69-59 loss. The busy schedule has left Chatman and Hall little time for sleep, let alone practice. The Rest of the Story By RANDY ROSETTA Advocate sportswriter

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They've already faced a Top 25 team this year and acquitted themselves well against 25th-ranked Texas. This one, though, is different for UL's women's basketball squad. LSU is a returning Final Four team and is off to a 3-0 start this season, and provides a stiff task for the Cajuns at 7 p.m. tonight at the Maravich Assembly Center. "They present you lots of problems," said UL coach J. Kelley Hall. "They're extremely big inside, they're shooting the ball well, and more than anything else they put five athletes on the floor at all times." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[CajunTundra]

Does anyone know if Jones and Colbert will be back tonight ? The Lafayette Advertiser says they are scheduled to be back, but The Morning Advocate says they will be out ? Is this some pre-game strategy ? I hope everyone comes out to support our Lady Cajuns tonight. Go Cajuns.

[CajunAmos]

I had also heard they will be back, along with the other two who sat out with Colbert. I had also heard at lunch that the game will be on Cox.

[Kal]

will this game be broadcast on radio?

[Tripple Threat]

Lady Cajuns tipping off vs LSU on cox 37.

[Turbine]

Wish I had seen this sooner.

Later Ugly Betty.

UL 13
LSU 22

[Tripple Threat]

Take away Fowles and it's a different game.

[LongTimeCajun]

Take away Fowles and it's a different game.

Fowles has more points than our whole team right now at half.

[Turbine]

Fowles has more points than our whole team right now at half.

And plenty of Fowles to give.

I mean, is it possible for her to Fowle out?

2nd HALF begins
UL 16
LSU 29