The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team had their season come to an end at the hands of the UL Monroe Warhawks on Wednesday afternoon inside the Pensacola Bay Center.
The Warhawks defeated the Ragin’ Cajuns 79-63 in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Garry Brodhead’s team finished the season with a 5-26 overall record.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
ULM got off to a hot start. They led 15-2 thanks to an efficient performance from their starting lineup. Marcavia Shavers was effective early, and she helped ULM grow their lead.
By the end of the first quarter, the Warhawks were up 17-7. UL would get the first two points of the second quarter to make it 17-9, but then another Warhawk run extended the lead. This time, Jazmine Jackson made a trifecta of threes.
The Warhawk lead would grow to as many as 28 in the quarter. Down the stretch, Tuesday’s hero Mikaylah Manley helped UL put together a 10-2 run, cutting into the lead at the break. At halftime, the Warhawks led 41-21.
Louisiana played much better in the second half than they did in the first half as the Ragin’ Cajuns scored 42 points in the final two quarters. The problem was that the Warhawks kept pace with the scoring output as they put up 38 points in the second half.
That proved to be plenty enough as the Ragin’ Cajuns were unable to overcome the first-half deficit and were eliminated from the SBC Tournament.
BIG NUMBER: 42
The ULM Warhawks dominated the glass in Wednesday’s game as they pulled down 42 rebounds, while the Ragin’ Cajuns managed to grab only 27 in the contest.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: MIKAYLAH MANLEY
A bright spot for the Ragin’ Cajuns was Manley, who led the team with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting and who went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.