The Book: Lady Cajuns 2007-08 basketball

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The frustration continues for the UL women's basketball team, which has lost 11 straight Sun Belt games and 15 of its last 16 games overall. "Believe it or not the kids still feel we can get this done," said first-year UL coach Errol Rogers. "The kids are OK. They know that even with all the games we've lost, you can go to the conference tournament and win four games and still go to the NCAA Tournament. "But I do believe we need to get a win before we get to the (conference) tournament." The Ragin' Cajuns (5-20 overall, 1-13 SBC) look to end their streak at 7 tonight at New Orleans (12-13, 6-8) in the Human Performance Center. UL enters the game last in the West Division, while UNO is fifth in the West. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

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Louisiana's Lady Cajuns lost a lead, but came back in dramatic fashion to earn a 58-56 victory at New Orleans on Thursday evening. Louisiana (6-20, 2-13) used a three-point basket from Whitney Dunlap with 5.2 seconds remaining to win the game. Dunlap, who did not hit a field goal in the meeting between the two teams earlier this season, scored a career-high 23 points - including six triples - to lead the Cajuns. The Cajuns have now won 10 straight vs. UNO. The last UNO victory came back on Feb. 9, 2003. New Orleans (12-14, 6-9) grabbed the lead with 4:52 remaining and held it until Dunlap’s final shot. The Cajuns led for all but 30 seconds of the first half, and held a seven-point edge with nine minutes to play, but couldn’t muster the offense to keep their lead. Leading by seven, the Cajuns made only two free throws over the next seven minutes. Amazingly, the Cajuns trailed by only four points with 2:30 remaining. Alicia McDaniel scored the Cajuns first field goal in a span of 7:42 to pull the Cajuns within two points. After a Talisha Young basket, Dunlap converted a three-point play to make it a one-point game, 56-55, with 1:20 left in the game. Courtney Ratliff missed two free throws with 38.1 seconds remaining, but her offensive rebound gave the Cajuns another chance. UL committed a turnover with 17.8 second remaining and was forced to foul. Brittany Helm missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give the Cajuns possession. Following a timeout with 7.6 seconds remaining, Dunlap came off a double screen and buried the game-winning triple. McDaniel added 14 points and Sonora Edwards had 11 points and a team-best six rebounds. Edwards now sits 15 points shy of 1,000 for her career. Le’Della English led a trio of Privateers in double figures with 15 points. Young added 13 points and Helm scored 11 points. UNO made its first five shots of the second half, but the Cajuns countered with four of their first five to keep a four-point lead. After the hosts closed within two points, the Cajuns used five unanswered to take a seven-point edge. The Privateers tied the game thanks to offensive rebounds leading to second and sometimes third shots. With eight minutes to play, UNO had 34 total rebounds, including 17 offensive boards, while the Cajuns had only 18 total rebounds. Ratliff gave the Cajuns back the lead with one free throw at the five minute mark, but Helm scored eight seconds later to give UNO their first lead since the 18:36 mark of the first half. UNO dominated the rebounds, 42-26, but the Cajuns committed a season-low 10 turnovers. Just as they did in the first meeting, the Cajuns jumped on the Privateers early. UL outscored UNO 19-7 in the first 9:05 of the game. All five Cajuns starters had at least one basket in the first seven minutes, with McDaniel providing seven of UL’s first 19 points. UNO started the game 4-for-20 from the floor. The Privateers bounced back with a 7-0 run to cut their deficit to five points. Edwards converted a turnaround jumper – her third basket of the first half – to stop the host’s run. Dunlap’s second triple pushed the Cajuns’ lead to eight points, 26-18, with 4:07 remaining in the opening half. Dunlap hit two more triples in the final minutes, but UNO outscored the Cajuns 9-6 to end the half down five points. The Cajuns return home to face UALR on Sunday afternoon at Earl K. Long Gym. Tip is slated for 2pm. The RaginCajuns.com

[CajunTundra]

Awesome game by Dunlap, glad we finally broke the losing streak. Hopefully this is start of something. Maybe we can get some more confidence before the start of the SunBelt Tournament. Does anybody know why Coach Rogers doesn't play Onna Charles ? From the games I've seen it looks like we struggle on our halfcourt offensive scoring. If we get Charles and Dunlap hitting three's from the outside, it should open up the inside game for Edwards and McDaniel.

Geaux Cajuns !!!

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With a simple flip of her right wrist, junior Whitney Dunlap ended the mounting frustration for the UL women's basketball team Thursday night. The 5-foot-8 guard drilled a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left as the Ragin' Cajuns edged New Orleans, 58-56, on the road at the Human Performance Center. The thrilling Sun Belt Conference win snapped an 11-game losing streak for UL, which had dropped 15 of its previous 16 games. It was the break first-year UL coach Errol Rogers and his Cajuns (6-20 overall, 2-13 SBC) had been waiting for all season. "We got that break," Rogers said. "We've been working hard. The kids hadn't given up. We got down again late, and they could have gone 'Oh, here we go again.' But they believed. "We still believe." The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

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Sonora Edwards topped 1,000 career points in the Lady Cajuns victory. Louisiana led for the entire game en route to a 68-63 upset of North Texas on Wednesday evening. UL (7-21, 3-14) now moves into the No. 12 seed thanks to Troy’s victory over Florida Atlantic. The Lady Cajuns are currently matched with the No. 5 seed for the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament – in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe. North Texas (13-16, 8-9) was able to close within two points at the 8:53 mark of the second half, but Sonora Edwards scored the biggest basket of her career to turn the game around. Edwards’ offensive rebound and put-back at the 8:23 mark stopped the NT run and gave the senior center 1,001 career points – making her the 13th player in school history, and second this season, to join the 1,000-point club. Coincidently, Onna Charles topped the 1,000-point mark earlier in the season at North Texas. Edwards wasn’t finished, hitting two more baskets to give UL a 56-48 lead with 5:38 to play. Alicia McDaniel’s three-point play saw the hosts lead grow to 61-52 with under four minutes left in the game. NT scored two baskets in seven seconds to ignite another 7-2 run that closed the visitors within four points at 2:44. Brittney James missed two free throws that would have made it a two-point game with exactly one minute remaining. Instead, Edwards nailed two from the stripe to give UL a 67-61 edge with 57.8 seconds left. Edwards led all players with 16 points, 16 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Three other Cajuns scored in double figures, including McDaniel with 16 points, Courtney Ratliff with 14 points and Whitney Dunlap with 11 points. Ratliff added 10 boards to earn her third double-double of the season. McDaniel has now scored in double figures 19 times in her last 20 games. The Mean Green also had four players in double figures, led by 15 points from James. McDaniel opened the second half with a jumper to extend the Cajuns lead to 13 points. From there, North Texas outscored the Cajuns 7-2 to trim the lead under double figures. UL used baskets by Ratliff and Edwards to keep a 12-point cushion with 13:28 to play. Talicia Sanders scored three baskets during a 14-4 Mean Green run that saw the Cajuns lead get down to two points, 48-46, with 8:53 remaining. UL has now won twice in the last three games. The Cajuns had all five starters score in the first 7:26 and shot 43 percent in the first half en route to a 36-25 lead at the break. Edwards had two early baskets and Dunlap hit a triple to help the Cajuns grab a 12-6 lead. Consecutive baskets from Ratliff and Dunlap’s second triple pushed the Cajuns lead to 10 points, 23-13, at the midway point of the first half. The Mean Green countered with a 7-2 run to cut their deficit in half, but UL responded with an 11-5 burst to close the half with an 11-point lead. McDaniel triggered the run with two quick baskets. She finished the half with a basket with seven seconds remaining. The Lady Cajuns finish the regular season on Saturday afternoon vs. Denver. The front end of the Cajundome doubleheader begins at 4:30pm. RaginCajuns.com

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In their final game in Earl K. Long gym, Sonora Edwards and Alicia McDaniel came up huge for the Cajuns in their 68-63 Sun Belt Conference victory over North Texas. The rest of the story Grant Alexander galexander@theadvertiser.com

[OLF82]

Another 4 year senior performer not mentioned in the story is Onna Charles. What a clutch shooter through the years! It's too bad her playing time has been reduce so much this year. If just given a chance to get hot, she's deadly. Oh, well... Thanks for four great years, Onna.

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Five seniors will be honored before their final home game for the UL women's basketball team at 4:30 p.m. today at the Cajundome. Alicia McDaniel, Sonora Edwards, Courtney Ratliff, Onna Charles and Kina Miller will try to help the Cajuns (7-21 overall, 3-14 SBC) beat Denver (11-17, 6-11). The Pioneers beat the Cajuns, 60-52, on Feb. 10. "They've really taught me a lot," first-year UL coach Errol Rogers said of his seniors. "People were saying Alicia was a defensive specialist, but she can score with any player in the league. Courtney hadn't really played a lot and has been kind of up and down, but I wish I could have her for another couple of years. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[headragincajun]

Congrats to Sonora Edwards (1,000 points and 2nd all time leading
rebounder). What a class person and hard worker. She will be missed.
Congrats to Onna Charles (1,000 points) One of the best shooters in Cajun History and a wonderful person. She will be missed.
Congrats to the other 3 seniors, Alicia McDaniel, Courtney Simmons and Kina Miller, you will be missed. This group leaves as the most accomplished group of Seniors in Cajun History. I just wanted to say "Thanks" and good luck to the 5 Seniors. 2 Sun Belt Western Division Championships, NCAA Tourney Bid, best 2 year record (twice), Alltime Single season wins (25). You have played the game well and served your school well. Good Luck to you and Cajun fans will remember you for life, don't ever forget that.
Former Headragincajun

[RaginFan2]

Congrats to Sonora Edwards (1,000 points and 2nd all time leading
rebounder). What a class person and hard worker. She will be missed.
Congrats to Onna Charles (1,000 points) One of the best shooters in Cajun History and a wonderful person. She will be missed.
Congrats to the other 3 seniors, Alicia McDaniel, Courtney Simmons and Kina Miller, you will be missed. This group leaves as the most accomplished group of Seniors in Cajun History. I just wanted to say "Thanks" and good luck to the 5 Seniors. 2 Sun Belt Western Division Championships, NCAA Tourney Bid, best 2 year record (twice), Alltime Single season wins (25). You have played the game well and served your school well. Good Luck to you and Cajun fans will remember you for life, don't ever forget that.
Former Headragincajun

Former Headragincajun, you ARE missed! Hope everything is going well for you and your family.