The Book: Lady Cajuns 2007-08 basketball

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UL - Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns head to the post season having won three of their last four games following Saturday afternoon’s 66-44 victory over Denver. Louisiana (8-21, 4-14) grabbed a lead early in the first half and never let go. UL started the second half with a 19-6 run to build an 18-point edge. Onna Charles scored eight points on the spurt, including a pair of three pointers, to give the Cajuns a big lead. The Cajuns’ strong play continued, as UL never let their lead dip below 14 points over the remaining 13 minutes. On senior night, it was fitting that UL was led by its trio of four-year seniors. Alicia McDaniel led all players with 18 points, while adding eight rebounds, three steals and three assists. Sonora Edwards finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while Charles ended with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The Cajuns’ other active senior, Courtney Ratliff had six points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Denver (11-18, 6-12) was led by Alisha Godette’s 10 points and nine rebounds. UL shot 51 percent for the game, compared to just 31.4 percent for the Pioneers. The Cajuns led for a majority of the first half thanks to 47.8 percent shooting. DU was just 33.3 percent from the floor in the opening half en route to their deficit Tied at 10-10, the Cajuns used a triple from Edwards and two free throws by Ratliff to take a five-point advantage. The Cajuns held their lead throughout the half and finished with the same five-point cushion after 20 minutes. UL will head to South Alabama on Wednesday for the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament. RaginCajuns.com

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The Sun Belt Conference announced its 2007-08 All-Conference Women’s Basketball Team on Tuesday and Louisiana’s senior guard Alicia McDaniel was named to the third team. The All-SBC selection is the first of McDaniel’s career and marks the fifth straight season the Cajuns have earned an all-conference choice. Known as one of the Cajuns better defensive players in years past, McDaniel added the scoring element to her game this season. The Houston, Texas native ranked 12th in the conference in scoring, 14th in field goal percentage, 13th in rebounding, 11th in assists and fifth in steals. Only Middle Tennessee’s Amber Holt – a first team selection – and McDaniel were ranked among the conference leaders in scoring, field goal percentage, rebounding, assists and steals. McDaniel scored in double figures in 20 of her last 21 games dating back to Dec. 18, 2007. Her only non-double figure scoring game was when she fouled out at Troy. The 5-foot-7 guard had four double-doubles – all in Sun Belt play. McDaniel is the Cajuns leader in points, assists and steals and is second in rebounds and third in blocks. RaginCajuns.com

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The emotions of UL's Senior Day drained even the normally stoic Sonora Edwards. Before Saturday's 66-44 win over Denver, the senior cried as she was honored during a pre-game ceremony at the Cajundome. Afterward, she had a hard time accepting the fact her college career - and those of fellow seniors Alicia McDaniel, Courtney Ratliff, Onna Charles and Kina Miller - is rapidly coming to a close. "It's almost over," Edwards said. "I'm not saying it's completely over, but it's almost over." Not so fast. UL (8-21 overall) wants to extend its recent hot streak in the Sun Belt Conference postseason tournament. The Cajuns, the No. 12 seed, play a first-round game at 7 tonight against No. 5 seed South Alabama (19-10) at Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

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Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns season ended on Wednesday following a 49-40 loss at South Alabama in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Louisiana (8-22) drops to 3-14 all-time in Mobile and 2-7 all-time in the Mitchell Center. South Alabama (20-10) defeats the Lady Cajuns for the second time this season. UL lost 76-65 at USA earlier in the regular season back on Jan. 23. USA advances to the tournament quarterfinals on Saturday at 3pm to face the winner of Arkansas State vs. Florida Atlantic. It was the first conference tournament meeting between the teams. The Cajuns fall to 8-4 this season when leading at the half. UL extended its halftime lead to eight points early in the second half, but three Cajuns turnovers led to a 6-0 Jaguars run. A basket from Sonora Edwards and a triple by Jasmine Barnes helped push the visitor’s lead up 30-24 with 12:04 remaining. Trailing 30-27, USA went to the free throw line after the Cajuns seventh team foul (USA did not have any team fouls in the first 10 minutes). Jessica Starling hit two from the stripe before Shakira Nettles hit consecutive baskets to put the Jaguars in front 33-31 with 7:29 to play. Starling’s jumper pushed the host’s lead to four points, 38-34, with 4:21 on the clock. Barnes answered for the Cajuns a little over one minute later to cut the margin back to two points. A bucket from Jeanette Tucker and a triple by Starling helped USA to a seven-point lead with 78 seconds remaining. Nettles made two of the Jaguars’ six straight free throws in the final minute to secure the victory. Nettles led all players with 15 points. USA outscored UL 22-10 over the final 10:18. Barnes led the Cajuns with a career high 13 points. Both teams made only six field goals in the first half. The Cajuns four active seniors - Onna Charles, Alicia McDaniel, Edwards and Courtney Ratliff - all started the game. UL finished 2-6 when that foursome started together this season. The Cajuns had trouble finding their offense early, scoring only four points in the first 10 minutes. Fortunately, the Jaguars were having similar troubles, recording just seven points over the same span. UL started the game 1-for-15 from the floor, while USA was 3-for-16. Barnes sparked the team off the bench, scoring four straight points to give the Cajuns an 8-7 lead at the 8:13 mark. Despite losing the boards 27-17, the Cajuns led 14-9 with 2:23 remaining in the first half. Both teams scored four points apiece, as the Cajuns held their five-point edge at the break. UL had only three turnovers, compared to eight by USA in the first 20 minutes. RaginCajuns.com Chris Whitehead