The Book: Lady Cajuns 2005-06 basketball season

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Sherita Anderson has big goals. She also has big responsibilities. It's no wonder the senior center on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajun women's basketball team needs a break every now and then. Anderson, a 2004 transfer from Blinn Junior College, will play a vital role this season as the Cajuns of coach J. Kelley Hall attempt to equal - or improve upon - last year's breakout 22-9 finish that included the Sun Belt Conference Western Division title. She hit 4-of-6 shots, scored 10 points and pulled down four rebounds while playing 29 minutes in Tuesday's 82-54 exhibition loss to Everyone's Internet. After averaging 9.3 minutes per game a year ago, Anderson is being asked to triple her playing time as a senior. "I want to see how long my stamina lasts," said Anderson, who showed in preseason individual work that she had dedicated herself in the offseason. "If I can last in these exhibition games, then I can last in a real game." "Sherita is in 100 percent better condition this year," Hall said. "She's dropped 25 pounds. The thing about her is that she's not afraid. It helps when your best players are also your hardest workers. "She's a very vocal leader, and we need that on the floor. She's a good low post person who can average in double figures for us." Whether Anderson is on the court or catching a minute or two on the bench, fans know where she is. Her 6-foot-2 presence is obvious on the floor, and her vocal support and loud clapping are apparent. "I've always been that way," Anderson said. "I've always been one to say, 'Let's go team' and make up cheers on the bench. When I was in high school, you could always tell about me and my mom (Avis)." Last year's stellar finish might have even drowned out Sherita and Avis, though, as fans flocked to E.K. Long Gym. The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Lady Cajuns basketball team withstood a late rally to win its final exhibition game of the 2005-06 season, 89-79 over the Jackson Babes here Saturday night at Earl K. Long Gym. The Cajuns were led by Yolanda Jones who recorded a double-double on the night. The junior forward scored 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to pace the Cajuns in both categories. UL led by as many as 20 points, 60-40 at 16:02 of the second half, before a late Babes run cut the lead to three with one-minute left in the game. The Cajuns were in cruise control with eight minutes remaining in the game, holding a 79-64 advantage. UL was held to just three points over the next seven minutes as the Babes made their run outscoring UL 15-3. A pair of Bernette Tolston free throws at 1:11 trimmed the Cajuns' lead to 82-79. Freshman guard Whitney Dunlap drained her fifth 3-pointer of the game with just under a minute left to play to increase the Cajuns lead to six at 85-79. Senior point guard Ashley Blanche converted four straight free throws to give the Cajuns the 10-point victory. The Babes missed their final three field goal attempts. UL had four players record double digit scoring efforts, Jones (23), Onna Charles (18), Blanche (15) and Dunlap (15). The Ragin' Cajuns took a 52-37 lead into the intermission powered by Charle's 17 first half points. The sophomore guard was 6-for-12 from the field including 5-for-8 from behind the arc. The Cajuns started quick jumping out to a 12-6 lead before the first media timeout. The Babes made a push over the next four minutes to trim the lead to 19-18 at 10:30. UL went to its three-point attack to slowly build its halftime margin. A Dunlap triple at 10:18 gave the hosts a 22-18 lead. The Babes answered on the ensuing possession, but UL's Alicia McDaniel converted a long-distance jumper to give the Cajuns a 25-20 lead. Leading 29-22, the Cajuns benefited from back-to-back triples from Charles to increase the lead to 35-22. Twice in the final five minutes of the opening half the Babes cut the Cajuns lead down to single digits. Twice Charles had an answer from three-point range to push the lead back to double digits. Leading 41-33, Charles connected on a triple to make it 44-33 at 3:48. Jackson cut the lead to 44-36 at 2:50 and Charles answered again at 2:20 to give UL a 47-36 lead. Jones was the only other Cajuns player with double digit points at halftime. The native Lumberton, N.C., had 10-points on 4-of-7 shooting at the break. She led all Cajun players with six rebounds in the half. The Jackson Babes were led by former Ragin' Cajun standout Anna Petrakova. Petrakova had 27 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks for the Babes. Another former Ragin' Cajuns basketball player, Tolston scored 15 points. She made a pair of three pointers that sparked the Babes late comeback efforts. Louisiana-Lafayette now turns its attention to its season opener in which the Ragin' Cajuns will represent the Sun Belt Conference in the 2005 Women's Preseason NIT. UL will travel to Dallas, Texas, to face SMU on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m.

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Two things became apparent Saturday night at Earl K. Long Gym. First, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajun women showed marked improvement from their first exhibition game to their second, pouring in 52 points in the first half and topping the Jackson Babes 89-79. After managing just 54 points in an 82-54 loss to Everyone's Internet last Tuesday, the Cajuns gave the 264 fans on hand reason for hope. Secondly, Anna Petrakova still has game. She scored 27 points and had 14 rebounds for Jackson, playing in a different uniform after a sterling career at UL that included Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2004 and two all-conference campaigns. "Obviously, Anna played really well," UL coach J. Kelley Hall said. "We wanted Yolie (Yolanda Jones) to go against good players, which will continue to make her better as she gets a little more familiar with our team." "It's coming along," said Jones, who finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. "This night felt better. I was nervous on Tuesday. I'm starting to see where the other players are on the floor, and how they play." Petrakova, on the other hand, needed a half to get into a rhythm. "I knew it wouldn't be easy," she said. "For one thing, they (the Cajuns) know everything about me. For another, I know nothing about my (Jackson) teammates. And third, I wasn't sure what position I was playing. The 4? The 5? Both? "I made some adjustments in the first half and felt more comfortable in the second." The Babes also got 15 points each from ex-Cajun Bernette Tolston and Ta'Keshia Lewis as well as 12 from Pam Hudson. The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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DALLAS - The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns rebounded and played defense here Friday night, but were betrayed by subpar offensive play as the SMU Mustangs pulled away late in the game for a 53-45 win in the first round of the Preseason NIT. "It was close the whole way," said coach J. Kelley Hall. "We were down by 4 or 6 inside of two minutes, and they got a backdoor layup." The Cajuns hit just 18-of-67 shots in the contest and suffered 21 turnovers, negating a 52-46 edge in rebounding and a defensive effort that held the Mustangs to 2-of-19 shooting from 3-point range. "We just didn't shoot the ball well enough to win," Hall said. "We had 21 turnovers and just shot the ball misreable. They played us 'man' the whole game. We got a lot of good looks, but couldn't put it down." Newcomer Yolanda Jones led UL with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but made just 8-of-27 shots in her Cajun debut. Also for the Cajuns, Ashley Blanche had 11 points and 7 assists, Sonora Edwards cleared 11 rebounds and Alicia McDaniel finished with 10 caroms. "We've got a lot of new faces, anf that hurt us execution-wise," Hall said. "We're just so short-handed. We're basically playing with the five kids we had back from last year, plus Yolanda and Whitney Dunlap. The rest of the story

[Hammer58]

I like the original headline in the Advertiser.

"Cajuns loses late to SMU in NIT"

Loses? Man, that sports editor is doing a bang up job!

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J. Kelley Hall spent part of Sunday afternoon watching a static-filled tape of last Friday's 53-45 loss to SMU in the opening round of the Preseason NIT. He also kept track of Sunday's 80-43 thrashing of that same SMU squad by Oklahoma in the second round, yet still wished his Louisiana Ragin' Cajun team had been able to face OU. "I'm disappointed," Hall said. "I wanted to play Oklahoma, to see where we stacked up with them. It takes away a good learning experience, and playing in front of a big crowd. That can be valuable to a team. "Nothing against Alaska-Anchorage, but when we went to the Great Alaska Shootout last year, I wanted to be able to play Stanford." Hall's 2004-2005 Cajuns whipped Anchorage 88-48 before falling to Stanford by a 67-47 count in that tournament, and then went on to reach the finals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and finish 22-9. "We've got something we can work with now," said Hall, who promptly sent the Cajuns through a 2 1/2-hour practice to start a week of preparations for next Sunday's 3 p.m. home game against Hampton at Earl K. Long Gym. "We held a good SMU team to 53 points, and we gave up 56 a game last year. We played well enough defensively to win, but our offensive execution wasn't very good. I was shocked that we didn't shoot the ball better." The Cajuns turned the ball over 21 times against SMU and hit just 18-of-67 shots, including 8-of-27 from standout junior college transfer Yolanda Jones. "They forced Yolie into bad shots, once they figured out nobody else could make a shot for us," Hall said. "With the 21 turnovers and poor shooting, we didn't give ourselves a chance. We've got to fine tune the offense. The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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It's hard enough to make the step from high school to college basketball if you're healthy. If you're not, the task becomes that much tougher. University of Louisiana sophomore Sonora Edwards has had more than her share of health issues to start the 2005-2006 season, but the 6-foot-2 center is finally starting to find her rhythm. Edwards pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds in the Nov. 11 season opener at SMU and will continue to be an ever-growing presence for the Ragin' Cajuns, who host Hampton University at 3 p.m. today at Earl K. Long Gym. "When the season started, I was weak and had migraine headaches," Edwards said. "Then I got that under control, and I rolled my ankle. And my left knee has been weak. I've been getting treatment on it. "It's been a hard time." Edwards' development is crucial for the Cajuns, who lost standouts Anna Petrakova and Tiffany Washington from the 22-9 squad of a year ago and need replacements in the inside game. "It's been hard for Sonora," coach J. Kelley Hall said. "She hasn't really been healthy yet. It's been one thing and another. But she played well against SMU and had the best rebounding game of her career." "I've had to put my priorities straight," Edwards said. "I'm here to get my education, and I'm here to do what I can for the team. "Everyone brings something different to the team. I put myself after the team, because the team needs you." Hall sees some of the same qualities in Edwards that he saw in a young Petrakova, and so has asked the Snook, Texas, product to use the former UL star as a model. That may take a bit more assertiveness from the team-oriented Edwards. The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[DaddyCajun]

Working right now was wondering if someone could post the scores as the game progresses??

Thanks,
DaddyCajun

[BabbForHeisman]

Working right now was wondering if someone could post the scores as the game progresses??

Thanks,
DaddyCajun

Cajuns win, 68-54.

A little sloppy at times, but overall a good effort.

[DaddyCajun]

Cajuns win, 68-54.

A little sloppy at times, but overall a good effort.

Thanks, Babb!!

Geaux Louisiana's Lady Cajuns!!!!!!!!!!!!!


DaddyCajun

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LOUISIANA La. - The nation’s 12th longest home winning streak was extended to 16 games on Sunday thanks to Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns 68-54 victory over Hampton University. Both teams were plagued by turnovers (UL 23, HAM 29), but it was the Cajuns who excelled from the three-point line, making eight to the Pirates one. Louisiana took a double-digit lead just 4:30 into the game and held it for nearly the entire contest. The Pirates were able to get as close as five in the first half, but trailed by double-figures for all but 13 seconds of the second half. Hampton cut the Cajuns lead below double-figures momentarily early in the second half, 44-35 at 14:16, but Onna Charles drilled her fourth three-pointer of the game just 13 seconds later to bring the Cajuns lead to 12, 47-35. Yolanda Jones then added back-to-back baskets, propelling UL to a 51-35 edge at the 11:25 mark. A 5-0 run by the Pirates was interrupted by a three-point play from Amber Williams. Hampton continued its surge with two baskets from Chinyere Ukoh to get within 10. The Cajuns would respond again, using a 9-2 spurt to take a 65-48 lead with 1:19 remaining. Jones started and ended the run with baskets, as Sonora Edwards added a lay-up and Ashley Blanche contributed a three-point play. Jones led the Cajuns with 23 points and seven rebounds. Blanche added 16 points and seven assists, while Charles posted 14 points and six rebounds. Louisiana evens its record to 1-1, while Hampton falls to 0-2. Down 4-3 very early, the Cajuns came back with an 11-0 run to take a 10 point lead. The run included three’s from Charles, Whitney Dunlap and Jones. Jones’s triple, the Cajuns fourth of the game, equaled the team’s entire total from the season opener at SMU. The Cajuns lead grew to 24-12 until the Pirates used a 7-0 run to close the gap to five points with 6:51 remaining in the first half. Hampton scored five of their seven points from the free throw line. UL responded with baskets in the paint from Edwards, Blanche and Jones to push their lead to 30-19 at the 4:36 mark. Jones then added a jumper and a pair of free throws before Edwards drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to complete the Cajuns 13-0 run. Despite being outscored 5-2 over the final two minutes of the half, Louisiana led by 15, 39-24, at the break. The Cajuns continue defense of their home court winning streak on Wednesday against Texas Pan American. Tip-off is slated for 7pm. LOUISIANA SI

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The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns know they have work to do, but they also know they don't lose too often at home in Earl K. Long Gym on the UL campus. So Sunday's 68-54 victory over Hampton in the regular-season home debut followed a reliable blueprint for coach J. Kelley Hall's squad. Yolanda Jones had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Cajuns, who also got 16 points and seven assists from Ashley Blanche and another 14 points from Onna Charles. It added up to a 13th straight home win for the Cajuns, the 12th-longest in the country, in front of 286 fans. Their last defeat at home was Jan. 31, 2004 against Middle Tennessee. "We shot the ball well early, and then I think we coasted after that," Hall said. "We kept it in double digits most of the way, and I was happy with that." Early marksmanship by Charles helped stake the Cajuns to a 24-12 lead, but the visitors closed to within 24-19. At that point, the Cajuns put on a 13-0 burst for a 37-19 lead to re-establish control of the contest. "Coach Hall said that we were taking them too lightly," Blanche said. "He said they could sneak up and beat us if we didn't look out. So we started playing hard and started to score. "We just had to make plays." "I just remember coach Hall yelling at us to play defense," Jones said. "We gave away 54 points, and that's good. I actually played good 'D'. I'm proud of myself." The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com