The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (6-8, 1-1 Sun Belt) has had an up and down season up to this point. However, they were able to get back into form on Thursday night with a solid 61-45 win over lowly Appalachian State (2-11, 0-2 Sun Belt).
After an early back-and-forth, the Cajuns got out to an 11-6 lead with 5:44 left in the first quarter. However, the Mountaineers took a 16-13 lead at the end of the quarter with a 10-2 run.
The second quarter was more of the same with the game getting tied up a total of four times with App State taking the lead into the break with a layup from Bayley Plummer with three seconds left on the clock.
The Mountaineers maintained their control to start the second half, getting to as much as an eight-point lead with 3:54 left in the third quarter. However, the Cajuns caught fire late in the third quarter with an 8-2 run to make it 43-41 headed into the fourth quarter.
That momentum helped Louisiana get out in front and make it a convincing 50-43 lead with 6:43 remaining. Troi Swain put the final nail in the proverbial coffin with her sixth three pointer of the ballgame to put the Cajuns up by 13 with 2:41 left.
The Cajuns will return to action on Saturday when they take on Coastal Carolina (8-6, 2-1) with tipoff set for 4 pm.
-Clint Domingue