Women’s Basketball Beats ULL 66-51 For First 12-0 Start
Which is worse to play in? A stadium full of rowdy college students after a long day, or a stadium full of elementary school children in the middle of the day? If you ask the Lady Bulldogs squad following today’s match-up with the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, they will tell you that elementary school children might take the top spot. Today was the annual “Elementary School Game” for the Ragin’ Cajuns in the Cajun Dome, but the Bulldogs didn’t waver as they defeated the team 66-51. With this win, Vic Schaefer’s squad has accomplished something that no other Women’s Basketball team wearing maroon and white has done before, have a 12-0 record. This also matches the most consecutive wins in school history for the team.
The game was truly a tale of two halves. The first half belonged to the Ragin’ Cajuns as they spread their lead to as much as 12 points. They were led by junior guard Keke Veal with 17 points and 3 assists. Two others joined her in double-digits as Kia Wilridge and Jaylyn Jordan added 10 and 13 points, respectively. Only 9 players touched the court for the Lady Cajuns, with only 6 of those contributing in the points column. In the first half, the Bulldogs had no way to stop the Ragin’ Cajun offense until Coach Schaefer decided to switch to a zone defense. Schaefer is someone that despises zone defense, but it proved to be quite effective against this stout ULL offense. With the Bulldogs finally being able to figure out how to slow down this Ragin’ Cajun offense, they finally began to fight back from a 12 point deficit and cut it to 2 at the half.
The second half belonged to the Lady Bulldogs. Freshmen Morgan William and Victoria Vivians paced this Lady Bulldog squad in the points category, scoring 21 and 17 respectively. Senior Martha Alwal was the only other Bulldog to score in double digits as she added 14 points and 9 rebounds. Vivians also got her 3rd double-double in this game, as she added to her 17 points by grabbing 12 boards. No other Bulldog scored more than 4 points in this matchup, with 7 of the 14 players that touched the court not scoring a single point in this game.
Overall, the stats were pretty heavy towards the Ragin’ Cajuns. They dominated the turnover battle 24 to 13, offensive rebounds 13 to 11, free throw percentage 75% to 64.3%, and longest time with a lead 18:56 to 18:47. But all that matters is the fact that in the end, the Bulldogs came out with their 12th victory in a very hostile environment in Lafayette, LA. The Lady Bulldogs have a couple of days off as they prepare for their trip to Las Vegas, NV for the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic at the South Point Hotel Arena. They will first face off against the University of Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, then Miami (OH) on Sunday.