Sharp shooting, sharing highlight Cajuns exhibition win over Loyola

Louisiana connects on half of 62 field goal attempts, totals 20-plus assists

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Basketball shot 50 percent, made 10 three-pointers and dished out 22 assists in a 76-47 exhibition victory over NAIA-ranked No. 15 Loyola (La.) on Monday, November 27 at the Cajundome.

Monday’s matchup with the Wolf Pack closed out a two-game exhibition break for the Cajuns, with regular season play set to resume on December 2 in New Orleans. It also concluded a four-game homestand for UL which next plays at the Cajundome on December 13.

All 14 of Louisiana’s available players made at least one field goal with Ashlyn Jones’ 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting being the top marks. Jones, who scored a game-high 11 points last Tuesday vs. Xavier (La.), was the leading scorer for the second straight exhibition outing.

Lanay Wheaton and Jaylyn James, with two triples apiece, were the two Cajuns with multiple makes leading the group of eight who connected from beyond the arc.

Louisiana used hot shooting at the beginning to establish control, making 8-of-15 (53%) shots in the first quarter to jump ahead 22-5. The torrid pace retuned at the end and allowed the Cajuns to pull away, shooting 9-of-17 (53%) in the fourth quarter to produce a game-ending 23-9 run.

The Cajuns finished the game 31-of-62 from the floor which included a 10-of-26 showing from three-point land. In the second half, the squad drained 18 field goals on 58 percent shooting and was 7-of-14 on treys in the final 20 minutes.

UL out-rebounded Loyola 42-26 led by eight boards from Imani Rothschild and seven boards from Tamera Johnson. Tamiah Robinson took home team-high honors with five assists in leading a group of six Cajuns who handed out multiple dimes.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Louisiana started the game with makes on its first three touches in building a 6-0 lead by the 8:34 mark. Wheaton’s two triples plus two free throws that she made sparked a 13-0 run from 5:19 through 2:14 that increased the lead to 20-3.

The Wolf Pack made its run after the second quarter media timeout, finished off by a four-point play and two triples in the final 33 seconds from former Cajun Lizzy Ratcliff that sliced the UL advantage to 33-24 at the break.

The Ragin’ Cajuns reasserted control inside of six minutes in the third quarter making five straight field goal attempts to generate an 11-0 run that returned the lead to double figures at 46-29 by the 3:23 mark. Jones, who made three baskets in the decisive run, started the pull away with back-to-back makes that gave UL a double-digit lead for good.

Loyola opened the fourth quarter with a Sandra Cannady layup that made it 53-40, but the Cajuns answered quickly with a Nubia Benedith layup at 9:28 and Wilnie Joseph layup off a Wolf Pack turnover at 8:38 to stretch the lead to 57-40. Minutes later it was a series of triples off the hands of James (2), Benedith and Alicia Blanton that ignited the second 13-0 run of the night, advancing the lead to its largest point at 73-42 with 4:18 to play.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin’ Cajuns resume regular season play on Saturday, December 2 in New Orleans facing the Privateers in a 2:00 p.m. contest at Lakefront Arena.

Live video coverage of the UL-UNO contest is available on ESPN+, while live stats can be accessed on the women’s basketball schedule page at RaginCajuns.com.

The trip to New Orleans marks the start of a brief two-game road trip that concludes the following Sunday (Dec. 10) in Baton Rouge at defending national champion LSU.

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