Lady Cajuns grab 1st WINNING SEASON in 17 years
Louisiana shuts down North Texas 73-66. Petrakova breaks school's all-time blocks record during Saturday night's victory
LOUISIANA La. - There's no place like home.
Louisiana's Lady Cajuns basketball team was able to surmount a three-game Sun Belt Conference road losing streak with a 73-66 victory over the North Texas Mean Green here Saturday night at Earl K. Long Gym. The win extends the Cajuns' home winning streak to 12 games, dating back to Feb. 5, 2004, against, coincidently, North Texas.
The win also moves the Cajuns (15-7, 5-4 Sun Belt) to within one game of West Division leader North Texas (11-10, 6-3 Sun Belt) and also assures the Cajuns of their first winning season since 1987-88 (18-11).
Anna Petrakova led all scorers with 24 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Junior forward Melissa Bratton added 17 points and six boards. Petrakova, a 74 percent free throw shooter entering Saturday's game, shot a dismal 3-for-7 from the charity stripe.
Tiffany Washington was the other Cajuns player in double figures, adding 10 points.
Similar to Thursday night's game at Denver, the Cajuns began the second half on a torrid pace. The Cajuns went on a 14-4 run to start the second half, extending their lead to 47-32 with 14:54 left in the game. Petrakova chipped in six points and Tiffany Washington four during the run.
Similar to the Cajuns' second half start against Denver, the Mean Green responded, cutting the UL Lafayette lead to as little as seven, 58-51, with 6:26 remaining.
However, it would be the closest the Mean Green would get until North Texas cut the Cajuns lead to six with 36 seconds left in the game.
UL starting point guard Ashley Blanche made her return to the court, after sitting out Thursday night's game at Denver with a sore knee. Blanche chipped in six points - all free throws - while playing nearly three minutes late in the second half.
For the second game in a row, a Cajuns opponent hit its first three point attempt of the night. North Texas freshman guard Amanda Quattrocchi hit a three pointer from the right side to give the visitors a quick 3-0 lead with 18:22 left in the first half.
Sherita Anderson responded with a fade away jumper from the low post, and then Erika Bobo added a jumper to give the Mean Green a 5-2 advantage.
Anna Petrakova hit a three pointer to tie the game at five with 16:17 left. From there, the Cajuns and the Mean Green exchanged a pair of baskets for the next 1:45, before Melissa Bratton hit a three pointer at the top of the key to give the Cajuns a 12-9 lead with 14:32 remaining.
With 12:16 remaining in the opening half, Petrakova etched her name atop the school's all-time blocks list with her first block of the night. Petrakova passed former Cajuns forward Sarah Richey, who previously held the school record with 163 rejections.
North Texas responded with a 7-0 run in 1:38 to regain the lead, 16-12, with 12:54 left to play. The Cajuns regained their three-point lead, 21-18, with 8:27 remaining in the first half after a 9-2 run.
Following the third media timeout, the Cajuns were able to extend their lead to five, 27-22, following back-to-back baskets on the low post by Petrakova. North Texas' DiDi Wali chipped into the Cajuns lead, 27-24, but Bratton built the Cajuns lead back to five, 29-24, with a running jumper in the lane.
The Mean Green cut the Cajuns' lead to one, 29-28, with 2:27 remaining the half, thanks to baskets from Talicia Sanders and Dorota Klat.
The Cajuns took a five-point halftime lead into the locker room, 33-28, with shots from Petrakova and Bratton.
Petrakova led all scorers with 11 points and five rebounds on 5-for-10 shooting. Bratton added nine points. The Mean Green outrebounded the Cajuns 22-19, while the Cajuns forced nine Mean Green turnovers.
Louisiana's Lady Cajuns return to action Thursday, Feb. 10 when they travel to New Orleans to face the UNO Privateers at the Lakefront Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
LOUISIANA SI
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Lady Cajuns grab key win
