The Book: Lady Cajuns 2005-06 basketball season

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Yolanda Jones was an All-American and a national champion playing for Trinity Valley Junior College, so she had the credentials to go to any number of universities to finish her collegiate eligibility. It may have surprised some when she opted to join coach J. Kelley Hall's Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, since the school had such a dreary history in women's basketball prior to his arrival, but she knew what she was doing. "I didn't want to go to a big school that always expected to win," Jones said. "I wanted to go someplace with no good history, then prove something. If everything changed, that could only help me more." UL was 22-9 and West Division champions of the Sun Belt Conference last season, reaching the finals of the conference tournament. But UL was 44-226 over the 10-year span of the 1990s. Now, with home games remaining at 4 p.m. today against Arkansas State and at 7 p.m. Saturday against Arkansas-Little Rock, the Cajuns are 17-8 and 7-6 in league play with a chance to repeat in the West. The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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The University of Louisiana women's basketball team couldn't make a double-digit lead stand up in the final 12 minutes, as Arkansas State rallied for a 70-64 Sun Belt Conference victory over the Ragin' Cajuns Thursday at Long Gym. ASU used Cajun turnovers and accuracy at the free throw line to make up a 49-39 deficit with 11:25 left, after UL had led by as many as 17 points in the first half. Rudy Sims led the Lady Indians with 21 points while Jeanenne Colbert paced the Lady Cajuns with 19. The rest of the story

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This is not the way Ashley Blanche wanted it to end. Blanche hit the game-winning basket in last year's season finale as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajun women edged Arkansas State 66-64 to complete a perfect home campaign and clinch a first-ever Sun Belt Conference West Division title. They went on to reach the finals of the Sun Belt Tournament and finish 22-9, tying a school record for wins. But Blanche has had a rough home stretch as UL's leader. She suffered a hairline fracture of her right arm on Jan. 28 against Western Kentucky and missed 12 days. She came back for a 54-50 home loss to South Alabama, then lasted two minutes over Troy before suffering a hyper-extended right knee. Blanche managed 18 minutes off the bench on Thursday against Arkansas State, scoring 5 points as the Indians rallied to stun UL 70-64 and end their dreams of a repeat West crown. The Cajuns face Arkansas-Little Rock at 7 p.m. tonight at Earl K. Long Gym, and they need to regain their form in a hurry. It's the final home game for Blanche and co-senior Sherita Anderson. The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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South Alabama's basketball team has already wrapped up the Sun Belt West Division title and will take a No. 1 seed into next week's league tournament at Murfreesboro, Tenn., but there's still another accomplishment dangling in front of the Jaguars tonight at the Mitchell Center. With a victory over North Texas, South Alabama will post the program's best regular-season record in 25 years. The 1981 Jaguars under Cliff Ellis were 22-4 during the regular season and finished the year 25-6. "I didn't know that," fourth-year coach John Pelphrey said as South Alabama enters tonight's contest. "For me as a coach, that's not so important, but for the players they want to win as many games as possible. Everybody wants to be remembered for something and that would be another accomplishment for this team. "But I think there's some other things to play for, too. We could wind up with the best record in the conference if we win and Western Kentucky loses to Florida International. Couple that with it being Senior Day and it makes it a big game. These guys have a lot of pride and want to go out and play their best in their last home game." With such incentives, South Alabama (20-6, 11-3) won't be looking ahead to next week's league tournament when it faces North Texas (14-12, 6-8) at 8:05 in the second game of a doubleheader. The USA women meet North Texas at 6 p.m., with the West Division title riding on the outcome. The rest of the story By KIM SHUGART

[Turbine]

The job coach Hall has done this year with the car wreck and Ashley Blanche breaking an arm and a leg . . . WOW


Nothing short of amazing. I read the game last night was a nip-tuck finish.
55-53 LOUISIANA

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If Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun women didn't get busy, they faced a rough road at the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament. Coach J. Kelley Hall's squad trailed visiting Arkansas-Little Rock 49-42 on a Laura Throesch jumper with 6:51 remaining in Saturday's season finale at Earl K. Long Gym. If that kept up, the Cajuns would have slid all the way to the No. 4 seed from the West Division and a first-round game on Thursday. But UL refused to lose, as the Cajuns held the Trojans scoreless for 4:04 and went on a defense-fueled 11-0 run to grab a 53-49 lead. UALR forged a tie at 53 apiece, but Sonora Edwards' two free throws with 35 seconds remaining gave Louisiana a hard-earned 55-53 triumph. "Time was running out," said point guard Ashley Blanche, who played her final UL home game with fellow senior Sherita Anderson. "We told ourselves the time is now, and we started to pick it up on defense The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[Cajun1997]

2 straight winning seasons, Coach Hall, staff and team are doing something right. This season proves last season was no fluke.

[CRAWFISH61]

This is the first year that I attended women's basketball games. Coach Hall and his basketball team are fantastic entertainment. They play hard and go all out at all times. The atmosphere at Earl K Long is great. I want to thank the team for all of the hard work and persaverance. They worked through a tragic car crash and the injury of Ashely Blanche. I especially want to thank Ashely for the effort she put in during her career as a Cajun. She is one of the best players ever to put on a uniform for the Cajuns. Thanks once again to the whole staff and team.

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The Louisiana Lady Cajuns aren't likely to win the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament. It's hard to win tournaments when you shoot 36.7 percent as a team and go roughly seven deep. That title will probably go to Western Kentucky or host Middle Tennessee, since those two programs have been the best in the league this season. Drawing Middle in Saturday's quarterfinals is no joy, either, although UL played the Blue Raiders to a 69-68 game earlier this season in Murfreesboro. No matter the finish, this Cajun squad has been a special one for its heart and grit. It has also put together an 18-9 record and plays defense like none other in the Sun Belt. Paired with last year's 22-9 West Division title season, Louisiana has equalled the best back-to-back seasons in school history. Jim Izard went 18-10 in 1982-83 and Ross Cook followed with 22-6. Forty wins in two seasons? The Cajuns won 44 games in the 1990s combined, so this is a big deal, and it's no accident. The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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. . . Jones, the Sun Belt's leading rebounder and the league's third-leading scorer, was also relegated to the second team in the women's selections. The junior was named as the league's Newcomer of the Year - the only player nominated for that honor - but Ragin' Cajun coach J. Kelley Hall didn't appreciate the first-team snub. "I'm very disappointed that people who are supposed to know what they're doing voted her second team," Hall said. "That's pretty immature on some voters' parts. I think the league should make the votes public ... people should be held accountable for how they vote." Jones averaged 18.0 points per game, 18.5 in league play, and topped the league by a wide margin in rebounding with a 10.9 average. She had the league's top two individual rebounding games this season including 20 against LSU-Shreveport and 19 against New Orleans. More importantly, the Lumberton, N.C., product and transfer from national champion Trinity Valley Community College led a team that had only one full-time returning starter to an 18-9 overall record and to a tie for second place in the Sun Belt's West Division. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - J. Kelley Hall knows the task that lies ahead. The University of Louisiana has never taken a women's basketball victory over Middle Tennessee ... home, road, tournament, doesn't matter. Oh-for-nine all-time. Middle's won two straight Sun Belt Tournament titles, winning the last two championship games by an average of over 18 points. Last year's finale was a 67-52 win over the Ragin' Cajuns. MT knocked off a No. 4 and No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament first-round the last two years. The Blue Raiders' only loss at home this season was to nationally-ranked Georgia back in November. Did we mention they'll be playing at home, in the familiar surroundings of the Murphy Center, when the Cajuns and the Raiders meet in today's 11 a.m. quarterfinal? "We got a tough draw," Hall said after his team's Thursday practice here. "We've got the host team, and everyone knows what Middle's done the last couple of years." But Hall's charges didn't get to 18 wins and an 18-9 record by throwing in many towels, and all he has to do is remind them of the two teams' meeting on MT's court this year. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[Turbine]

Appreciate and respect what you have been through, throughout this year. Coach Hall and staff did a wonderful job. (Is everyone under contract? I hope so)

I guess the loss of Colbert in the last game of the season underscores what the whole year was like.

MT beats Lady Cajuns 84-58

Looking forward to a heathy 2006-07 and maintaining the new standard (last 2 years) of averaging 20 wins.