The Book: Lady Cajuns 2005-06 basketball season

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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

[CajunCall]

Can anyone tell me if this team will be able to regroup for the whole sesaon?

[RaginDave]

Can anyone tell me if this team will be able to regroup for the whole sesaon?

Win number 2 comes tonight as the Cajun women will wip up on UTPA. Keep up the good work ladies.

[CAJUNJUDO]

Win number 2 comes tonight as the Cajun women will wip up on UTPA. Keep up the good work ladies.

Tonight?? I thought they play tomorrow night?
(Tonight, the guys play at Tennessee)

According to my schedule....it is tomorrow.

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The Lady Broncs travel to the University of Louisiana to face-off against the Lady Cajuns on Wednesday (Nov. 23) at the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA. The Lady Broncs own a 10-25 all-time series record against the Lady Cajuns. The last time the two teams met was during the 2003-04 season when ULL came to Edinburg and the Lady Broncs earned a 56-38 victory. In their home opener, the Lady Broncs lost on a last second shot to Prairie View A&M, 67-66. In her last game, Dominique Montague set a career-high with 19 points and set single-game records for field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage on 7-7 shooting, 5-5 from behind the three-point arc. Scouting the Ragin' Cajuns The Lady Cajuns are currently 1-1 on the season with a home victory over Hampton University, 68-54 and a loss to SMU, 53-45. Junior forward Yolanda Jones leads the team in scoring, averaging 21.5 points per game. They were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt Conference West Division. The source of the story By - Jeff Sutton (UTPA Assistant SID)

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LOUISIANA La. – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns overcame an early nine-point deficit to defeat Texas-Pan American 53-43 on Wednesday night at Earl K. Long Gym. After a difficult first half, UL played much better during an eight minute stretch in the second half to build a lead they would not relinquish. Sonora Edwards took control of the game, scoring eight straight points for the Cajuns, as the hosts moved a five point lead to 10 points in a 3:53 span. Yolanda Jones would add a basket and Edwards a pair of free throws to give Louisiana their biggest lead, 14 points (47-33), with 6:34 to play. UTPA made a late push, using a 7-0 burst to cut their lead in half, but tough Cajuns defense held the Lady Broncs scoreless for the next 2:29 and Edwards added two more free throws to give the Cajuns a nine-point cushion with 1:45 remaining. Edwards led all scorers with a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds. A career 77 percent free throw shooter, Edwards hit 9-of-10 from the free throw line, as the rest of the Cajuns struggled to make 4-of-11 from the charity stripe. The Cajuns stretched their three-point halftime lead to seven in the opening minutes of the second half. After the Lady Broncs had closed to within one point, Ashley Blanche responded with a three-pointer to up the Cajuns lead to four. Onna Charles hit her first free throw and missed the second, but Edwards’ offensive rebound and put-back gave UL a 37-30 lead. The Cajuns lead hit double figures four minutes later. Edwards second straight offensive rebound and put-back preceded a lay-up and then a pair of free throws – all from Edwards. Jones added 13 points and five steals for the Cajuns, while Blanche added 11 points. Despite a tough first half shooting the basketball, Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns managed to take their first lead with 1:10 remaining in the opening stanza and keep a three-point lead at the break. Down four with 2:23 left, Alicia McDaniel, Blanche and Whitney Dunlap hit back-to-back-to-back three’s to give the Cajuns a five-point lead. UTPA’s MaHogany Daniel scored the final basket of the half with 3.2 seconds remaining, as Louisiana led 27-24 after 20 minutes. It was the visitors that came out firing. UTPA connected on all three of its three-point shots en route to a 13-5 lead. The Cajuns utilized a 9-1 run to get back into the game. Edwards and Jones each hit a three pointer and then each later added a free throw to tie the game at 14-14 with 6:41 to play. Louisiana continues their home stretch on Sunday with a 2pm matinee against Texas-El Paso at Earl K. Long Gym. LOUISIANA SI

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There's an old saying in athletics that there's no such thing as a bad win. Well, the University of Louisiana Ragin Cajun women's basketball team certainly won't offer up any apologies after defeating the Texas-Pan American Lady Broncs 53-43 Wednesday night at Earl K. Long Gym, despite being outshot 36 to 28 percent, and outrebounded 40-39. "Any win that we can get is a good win, especially considering how inexperienced this team is," Cajun head coach J. Kelley Hall said. "We didn't shoot the ball well in either half tonight, but because we battled so hard, and played such outstanding defense, we we able to come away with the win, and that's the way this team is going to have to win this year." The rest of the story Steve Peloquin Sports Correspondent

[El Sidonio]

(from RaginCajuns.com)

"It wasn’t easy, but Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns home court winning steak lives on, thanks to a 65-61 double overtime victory over Texas-El Paso on Sunday afternoon."

I bet this just makes the girls hungrier for their next win.

Seriously, congrats to the Lady Cajuns for continuing to show perseverance.

GEAUX LOUISIANA'S RAGIN CAJUNS!!!!!!


God Bless

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LAFAYETTE – It wasn’t easy, but Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns home court winning steak lives on, thanks to a 65-61 double overtime victory over Texas-El Paso on Sunday afternoon. The Cajuns have now won 18 consecutive games at home. In the second overtime, neither team could score until Ashley Blanche’s three-point play with 2:20 remaining. Charnette Phelps scored on a short jumper 16 seconds later to cut the Cajuns lead to one point, 59-58, at the 2:04 mark. Blanche drilled a three-pointer from the top of the circle at 1:37 to extend the Cajuns lead to four, 62-58, with 97 seconds to play. Three straight defensive stands by the Cajuns led to three points from the free throw line, one by Blanche with 45.1 remaining and two by Yolanda Jones with 24 seconds remaining. Blanche had a chance to win it in the first over overtime, but her three-pointer at the buzzer hit the front of the rim In the first extra session, Sonora Edwards tied the game after UTEP momentarily took a two-point lead. Blanche then gave the Cajuns a two-point cushion after converting a difficult off-balance lay-up after being bumped in lane. Phelps tied the game for UTEP, but Blanche’s two free throws put the Cajuns back in front with 25.7 seconds remaining. Phelps re-tied the contest on a pair of free throws with 11.5 seconds remaining to send the game into the second overtime session. Blanche led all players with a career-high 23 points, including four consecutive free throws in overtime. Jones poster her second double-double of the season with 19 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. Edwards, making her second career start and first this season, added her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. The rest of the story LOUISIANA SI

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Every basketball team endures shooting days like the one the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team had on Sunday afternoon. But despite a horrendous first half shooting performance in which they were 7-of-35 from the field (20 percent), the Cajuns managed to pull out a 65-61 double-overtime victory against University of Texas-El Paso. And the key to the victory for the Cajuns, who extended the nation's 12th longest home winning streak to 18 games in front of 217 fans, was their suffocating defensive pressure and the senior prowess of guard Ashley Blanche. "Our defense gave us a chance to win the game," Cajuns coach J. Kelley Hall said of his team, who finished the game shooting 30.4 percent from the field. "It was our defense that kept us in the game, until we were able to score points." The Cajuns forced 21 turnovers and held the Miners to 30 percent shooting from the field in the game. "It was really frustrating early on because no one could hit a shot," said Cajuns junior forward Yolanda Jones, who recorded a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds in 46 minutes. "But we played great defense. We were able to hold them to 22 points in the first half. That helped us stay with them." Blanche enjoyed a career day against the Miners, scoring a game-high 23 points for the Cajuns, who improved to 3-1 on the year. The rest of the story Eric Narcisse enarcisse@theadvertiser.com