Tamiah Robinson buried a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left in the game to give Louisiana a 54-51 victory over Central Michigan as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge at McGuirk Arena.
With the game tied at 51-51 and 26.8 seconds left, the Cajuns held for the last shot. In the waning seconds, Brandi Williams found Robinson wide open, and the Philadelphia native connected on her second 3-pointer to give the Cajuns (10-12) the victory.
Robinson finished the game with a season-high 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting and was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.
With the Ragin' Cajuns leading by as many as 14 in the third quarter, Central Michigan (5-16) clawed back into the game, closing out the third quarter on a 12-2 run and led 48-44 with 4:05 left in the fourth quarter.
After a layup by Robinson to cut the lead to two, Jaylyn James gave the Cajuns the lead as she intercepted a pass and took it coast-to-coast for a layup and converted the and-1 opportunity, giving Louisiana a 49-48 lead. James extended the lead to three with another layup before Central Michigan tied the game at 51 with 26.8 seconds remaining.
The Ragin' Cajuns defense was stout in the first quarter as they held the Chippewas to just 2-of-16 from the floor and led 12-7 after the first 10 minutes. Louisiana added to its lead, utilizing a 9-3 run that ran into the second quarter and limited the Chippewas to just 1-of-8 shooting over the run to take a 16-7 lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns kept the pressure on as they took a 25-18 lead into the half, limiting Central Michigan to 23.5-percent (4-of-17) from the floor in the second quarter.
Alicia Blanton scored nine points off the bench, her second-highest scoring output this season, as James added eight and Nubia Benedith scored seven.
The Ragin' Cajuns forced 16 turnovers and converted them into 19 points while outscoring the Chippewas, 24-14, in the paint.
Louisiana returns to the Cajundome to face Georgia Southern on Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. and Arkansas State on Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.