The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team lost to the Marshall Thundering Herd 74-42 inside the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia on Wednesday morning. The loss moves the Cajuns to 5-7 in Sun Belt play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game began with Marshall using their fast-paced, chaos causing defense to create turnovers. Louisiana did not handle it well in the early going, and it led to a quick 11-0 run for the Herd to begin the game. After that stretch, Louisiana was able to settle in a bit, as they were only outscored 9-8 the rest of the quarter. Still, Marshall brought a 20-8 advantage into the second period.
The Cajuns started the second quarter by trying to cut into the lead. They got it down to single digits several times, largely thanks to the sharp shooting of Brandi Williams. However, Marshall ended the half on a 10-0 run with a near half-court three made at the buzzer by Breanna Campbell. That made the lead 41-22 at the break.
Louisiana started the second half much like the first. They could not get into their offense, and Marshall created momentum as a result. Another triple made by the Herd gave them their largest lead of the game at 52-25 at the media timeout in the third quarter. Louisiana could not ever significantly cut into the lead, and Marshall led 60-32 after three quarters.
The Cajuns put together a small run to cut into the lead at the beginning of the fourth, but it did not last. The Thundering Herd pressed from the opening tip to the final buzzer and were able to make the Cajuns’ offense stagnant at times. They stretched the lead back out to 32 and won by a final of 74-42.
BIG NUMBER: 28
Louisiana turned the ball over 28 times in the game, leading to 35 Marshall points. It was a killer for their chances in this game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Abby Beeman
Beeman is the leading scorer and facilitator for Marshall, and she showed that on Wednesday. Beeman had 14 points, four assists, and five rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Cajuns will travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan to face Central Michigan in the second round of the SBC-MAC challenge on Saturday at 12:00.