The women's basketball team fell 72-61 on the road against Mercer.
MACON, Ga.-Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns opened up the Errol Rogers Era on the road and played Mercer tight, but were unable to come away with the victory, falling to the Bears by a final score of 72-61.
The Cajuns trailed by as little as four with under a minute to play, but were forced to foul in the final 30-seconds to try to get the ball back and Mercer made the Cajuns pay by making 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
UL was led by Alicia McDaniel and Whitney Dunlap. The duo netted 17 and 15 respectively. McDaniel recorded five steals on the night and had four assists, while Dunlap added eight assists and contributed a pair of steals.
Lyndra Bell paced the Cajuns with eight rebounds on the night finishing one ahead of McDaniel who grabbed seven boards in the game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns were balanced on the night as nine of the 11 players that saw action in the game scored and 10-of-11 grabbed at least one rebound.
The Cajuns used a three-pointer by Dunlap to take a 3-1 lead just 90-seconds into the game, but an 8-to-2 run by the Bears saw the Cajuns on the wrong end of a 15-8 score.
Trailing 18-10, the Cajuns responded with a 13-to-2 run.
Dunlap started the run by hitting a triple from the top of the key. Sonora Edwards made a lay-up to cut the Mercer lead to just three. Back-to-back baskets by McDaniel gave the Cajuns their first lead since the score was 3-1.
A bucket by the Bears gave Mercer the lead, but a trey from Bronson Rodgers gave UL a 22-20 with just under eight minutes to play in the half. A jumper by Jasmine Barnes gave the Cajuns a four point edge – their biggest lead of the first half.
Mercer used a 9-to-0 run that spanned nearly three and a half minutes to give the hosts a 29-24 advantage with 3:02 remaining in the first half.
A pair of lay-ups by Edwards and McDaniel trimmed the deficit to one, but a Mercer basket with 75-seconds left in the first half sent the Cajuns into intermission trailing 31-28.
The Bears opened the second half with a 5-to-0 run, but the Cajuns bounced back with a 9-to-0 run of their own taking a 37-36 lead.
Lyndra Bell started the run with a pair of free throws. Onna Charles drained her first basket of the afternoon to cut the score to 36-32. A three by Dunlap cut the lead to just one point and a lay-up by Edwards gave the Cajuns their first lead of the second half.
A Mercer basket put the Cajuns behind by one, but a McDaniel free throw knotted the score at 38-38.
The Bears added a basket, but McDaniel again tied the score with a jumper from just inside the arc.
Valanette Amie gave the Cajuns a three-point advantage with 11:57 to play. Amie was fouled while making a lay-up and made the charity shot giving UL a 43-40 edge.
McDaniel and Amie each made lay-ups to push the Cajuns lead to 47-40, but a three pointer by Mercer cut the lead to just four.
Mercer’s Shaquita Bell cut the Cajuns’ advantage to just one with a jumper and a free throw, but a fast break lay-up by D’Mya Clay and a jumper by Dunlap thrust the Cajuns lead to 51-46 with just over eight minutes to play.
A triple and a lay-up by the Bears tied the score at 51-51 with 7:30 to play.
Trailing 55-51, the Cajuns used three field goals to pull within one point, but three consecutive buckets by Mercer extended the Bears’ lead to seven points with 2:28 remaining in the game.
The Cajuns cut the deficit to four, 63-59, with 1:41 to play thanks to a triple by Dunlap.
The two teams traded baskets, but the Cajuns could get no closer than four points.
The Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team will play their first home game of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 14 as they host Arkansas-Monticello. The game will be a double-header with the men’s basketball team. The game with the Cotton Blossoms tips-off at 4:30 p.m. at the Cajundome.
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Re: The Lady Cajuns of Basketball start anew under Rogers
Originally Posted by CajunTundra
Re: The Lady Cajuns of Basketball start anew under Rogers
