Late Push Gives Cajuns Best Start In Program History

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LAFAYETTE, La. – Junior forward Jasmin Mills came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team ended the game on a 16-9 run to match their best start in program history at 6-0 in a 58-52 victory over Southern-New Orleans on Saturday afternoon at the Cajundome.

Despite shooting a season-low 35 percent (25-of-71) from the floor, the Cajuns defense helped awaken the offense as Louisiana scored 17 points off 25 SUNO turnovers. It was the third-straight game the Cajuns forced at least 25 turnovers, and the fourth time this season.

Mills (6) and Simone Fields (5) combined for 11 offensive boards to help the Cajuns to a total of 24 and a season-high 50 rebounds. Fields also added 11 points and one block to her stat line. Keke Veal finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Kia Wilridge came close to a double-double with nine points, nine boards, five steals and three assists.

"It was one of those games that you worry about coming out of finals," said head coach Garry Brodhead. "This week was predominantly working on ourselves, defending, putting pressure on the ball and creating turnovers. I think turnovers and rebounding were key."

With Louisiana holding a 54-48 lead with two minutes to play, SUNO (5-3) cut its deficit to two as a layup by Marquetta Stokes and a jumper from Kishaun Williams made it 54-52 with 39 seconds remaining.

Wilridge answered for the Cajuns on the other end with a jumper in the paint for a two-possession game before a missed SUNO basket allowed Jaylyn Gordon to knock down two free throws to seal the victory for Louisiana.

The Cajuns struggled in the first half, being held to 32 percent (10-of-31) while also committing 16 turnovers, helping the Lady Knights take a 26-25 lead into halftime.

"You could see we weren't very sharp early on," Brodhead said. "I give credit to SUNO. I thought they played hard, harder than us at times. They created a lot of problems for us."

In the opening minutes of the second half, Fields sparked a 7-2 Louisiana run as Wilridge finished off a three-point play and Veal capped off the run with a layup to make it 34-29 with 16:36 to play.

SUNO crept within two after a layup by Breanna Wiley, who led the Lady Knights with 15 points, made it a 36-34 contest. However, the Cajuns answered with back-to-back buckets from Mills to build a 40-34 advantage with 14 minutes to play.

Louisiana continued to maintain a narrow lead over the next several minutes until a layup by Ksenia Sharan put the Lady Knights back on top at 43-42 with 7:39 remaining in the game.

A basket by Adrienne Prejean one minute later began a 6-0 run for the Cajuns over a span of 52 seconds with Gabby Alexander adding two-straight baskets for a 48-43 game with 5:38 left on the clock, giving the Cajuns the lead for good.

After tallying 16 first half turnovers, the Cajuns took much better care of the ball in the second half with just five turnovers while forcing the Lady Knights to commit 15.

The Cajuns will look for their first-ever 7-0 start Wednesday when they host No. 22 Mississippi State (9-0) at 11 a.m. at the Cajundome.

-- RaginCajuns.com --

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Team Stats

Jasmin Mills

Simone Fields

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge

Players Mentioned

Gabby Alexander

Simone Fields

Jaylyn Gordon

Jasmin Mills

Adrienne Prejean

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge