WBB Final: Louisiana 70, Troy 53

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The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team closes out a two-game set at the Cajundome on Saturday, January 25 when it faces Troy in a rematch. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. and admission is free and open to the public.

Saturday's contest is designated as the annual Alumni Game featuring a tailgate at Noon for alumni and their families and an on-court recognition at halftime.

Louisiana (8-9, 4-4 SBC) and Troy (13-7, 7-1 SBC) are set for a Saturday showdown for the second straight week. Last Saturday in Troy, Alabama, the Cajuns led the game's first 17-plus minutes before a strong second-quarter finish and early third-quarter push lifted the Trojans to an 81-73 victory.

The Ragin' Cajuns seek to snap a three-game losing streak which began last week on the road when the current stretch of four games involving Arkansas State and Troy began.

Erica Lafayette has headlined UL's efforts in SBC play, the graduate transfer from Baton Rouge ranking second in scoring in conference play at 17.8 points per game. Troy leans upon Zay Dyer's double-double average of 13.4 points and 11.6 rebounds in conference play.


GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (8-9, 4-4 SBC) vs. TROY (13-7, 7-1 SBC)
Date/Time: Saturday, January 25, 2025 / 2:00 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)

Radio: The GOAT 103.3 FM/1420 AM
Talent: Dawson Eiserloh

TV:ESPN+
Talent:Dan McDonald (pxp), Eric Mouton (analyst)

Live Stats:CajunStats.com
Social Updates:@RaginCajunsWBB | #GeauxCajuns

Series Record: Troy leads leads, 21-13
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 9-6
Streak: Troy, +1


BOUNCE PASSES
The Ragin' Cajuns are concluding the second half of the series of four consecutive games involving Arkansas State and Troy, taking their turn hosting the matchup with the Trojans.
UL and Troy meet on Saturday for the second consecutive week. The Trojans won 81-73 on January 18 in Troy, rallying past the Cajuns with strong play at the end of the second and at the start of the third quarter.
Troy has won the last five regular season meetings dating back to the 2022-23 season.
The Ragin' Cajuns own a 9-6 edge over Troy in their hometown. The Trojans hold a slight 5-4 edge in the Cajundome during the Garry Brodhead era.
Louisiana's last win over Troy eliminated the Trojans in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 SBC Tournament.
Saturday's game completes a string of six straight games against the SBC's western half. The next three games are against the eastern half: on the road at App State and Coastal (Jan. 30-Feb. 1), then home vs. Marshall (Feb. 5).
The Cajuns' four SBC losses have come to teams that have a combined 21-2 conference mark (JMU, Troy, ASU).
Louisiana is expected to have only nine players available, but has had success shorthanded before. In December, the Cajuns defeated Rice and Georgia Southern with only eight players available.
Erica Lafayette has scored double digits in 11 straight games (since Dec. 7 vs. Rice), averaging 16.9 points per game during the stretch. She's taken over the team lead in scoring at 14.2 points per game.
Erica Lafayette scored at least 17 points each of the first five SBC games, pacing her current 17.8 average in conference play. She ranks No. 2 and trails only JMU's Peyton McDaniel (18.4) for the scoring lead in SBC play.
The 4-1 start to SBC play was the best for Louisiana since the 2020-21 regular season championship campaign.
UL scored 60-plus points the first seven SBC games. The Cajuns are averaging 67.4 ppg in conference play.
Over the first five SBC games, the Cajuns had upped their scoring average to 70.4 points per game (season average was 61.7) while improving their shooting to 46 percent.
UL has scored 25-plus off turnovers three times in SBC play and is averaging 20.6 ppg off turnovers in SBC play.
The Ragin' Cajuns rank Top 25 nationally in turnovers forced (21.7), turning the opposition over 20-plus times in 13 of 17 games, including forcing No. 4 LSU into a season-high tying 21 turnovers and Auburn into 25 miscues.
UL held its first five foes to 60 or below and has yielded 70-plus only twice (No. 4 LSU, Troy).
UL led the SBC in scoring defense – and ranked Top 60 nationally – holding foes below 60 ppg the last two seasons.


UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns embark on a road trip to the Carolinas for contests at App State and Coastal Carolina from January 30-February 1, starting a stretch of three straight games against the SBC's eastern half.

Louisiana Athletics
RaginCajuns.com
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[HelmutVII]

At home in Cajun dome 2:00 PM VS Troy. 103.3 FM and varsity network

[BeauCajun]

Holding on to a nice lead in the 4th. 59-44

[Turbine]

TU 49
LA 66

1:06

[ragin50]

Holding on to a nice lead in the 4th. 59-44

Louisiana up by 17 with a minute left. Refs are atrocious, Saturday in the Sunbelt.

[ZoomZoom]

70-53. Troy dug a hole with 9 points in each of the first two quarters. UL cut down on their TOs from last game and was stellar at the line. Troy tried going up tempo in fourth, but Cajuns thwarted that idea. About 200ish total bodies in the dome.
https://stats.statbroadcast.com/mobile/?id=555975

[RaginScotsman]

Won with 8 players vs. one of the conference front runners.

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana Women never trailed and held Troy to 31 percent shooting in capturing a 70-53 win on Saturday, January 25 at the Cajundome, halting a three-game losing streak and moving back above .500 in conference play.

The Ragin' Cajuns defense forced the Trojans into 26 turnovers which played a key role in limiting the visitors to 18 field goal makes and holding them 26 points below their season average. UL's efforts snapped Troy's win streak and stretch of 80-plus point games – both had stood at seven straight games.

Louisiana (9-9, 5-4 SBC) received a career-high points contribution from Ashlyn Jones who led with a game-high 20 points. Jones poured in 12 points during the second half as the Ragin' Cajuns maintained a double-digit lead throughout the final 20 minutes.

The key performance, though, came from reserve forward Skylah Travis who knocked down 4-of-6 field goal attempts for eight points and grabbed nine rebounds, both career-high totals. Travis teamed with Uniyah Franklin to disrupt the inside game for the Trojans (13-8, 7-2 SBC) as the Cajun defense yielded only eight points in the paint in building a 31-18 halftime edge.

Free throw shooting cemented the win for UL, the squad netting 10 makes in the fourth quarter to finish off a 19-of-23 showing at the line. Jones, who finished 8-of-9 from the charity stripe, was 5-of-6 in the fourth quarter with those all coming in a stretch where a 56-44 lead grew to 62-47.

Louisiana's defense held Troy to its lowest field goal percentage (30.5%) in five weeks (30.2% at JMU) and forced the Trojans into their most turnovers committed since December 1 (27 at Mississippi Valley).

It was a complete reversal from Thursday's performance from Arkansas State for UL, holding a 26-14 advantage in turnovers forced and doubling up Troy in points off of turnovers (24-12).

The Ragin' Cajuns pivotal win came with being faced with only eight players available. It marked the third win under the circumstance (Rice, Georgia Southern).

Jones and Travis together helped UL break free from an 8-all tie and secure the lead after the first quarter. Jones sank the tiebreaking free throws at the 1:51 mark, and then they each converted a second-chance bucket over the next two possessions to advance the lead to 14-9.

Nubia Benedith capped off her seven-point spurt in the first two minutes of the second quarter with a three-point play at 8:12 that moved the margin into double figures for good at 22-11.

Travis delivered her most key offensive contributions to preserve the double-figure edge, an offensive putback at 6:45 and an 18-foot jumper in response to a Troy three-pointer that upped the lead to 26-14. Minutes later, Erica Lafayette's triple at 1:39 expanded the margin to 31-16.

Louisiana withstood a push from Troy in the third quarter by shooting 9-of-18 to outscore the Trojans 21-14 and further grow the lead. Lafayette, who scored 12 of her 19 points in the second half, scored two baskets in the final 3:52 of the period as the lead reached 20 points for the first time at 49-29.

Troy opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to lower the Cajuns' lead to 52-41 by the 7:43 mark, but Benedith settled things down with two free throw makes 12 seconds later.

The Trojans responded with a three-pointer from Briana Peguero at 7:23 to make it 54-44. Benedith countered with the biggest pass of the game, a home run ball off an inbounds pass in the backcourt to Lafayette for a wide-open layup.

The UL defense then continued a six-minute stretch of holding Troy without a field goal make during a 10-3 run keyed by Jones' five free throw makes and her second-chance layup at 2:15 which upped the lead to 64-47.

Louisiana Athletics
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