UL Women Edge UT-Arlington, 66-64
Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball captured a come-from-behind Sun Belt Conference home win on Saturday, defeating the UT-Arlington Mavericks, 66-64, at the Cajundome.
UT-Arlington led at halftime, 34-28, after leading by as many as 11 points, as Desherra Nwanguma scored 13 first half points.
The Mavericks out-shot the Cajuns from the floor in the first half, 44%-36%, while Louisiana finished the half with a 20-16 rebound advantage.
For UL, Kia Wilridge was the leading scorer at the break, with 8 points.
UT-Arlington had their biggest lead of the second half, 44-37, at the 15:45 mark, before Louisiana went on a 20-11 run, to take a 57-55 advantage at the 4:52 mark.
The Mavericks answered right back however, scoring the next four points, taking a 59-57 lead with 3:50 left.
The Cajuns came right back, as Robbie Brown converted a lay-up at the 2:45 mark, knotting the score, 59-59, before Wilridge gave Louisiana a 61-59 lead with a jumper at the 1:30 mark.
Wilridge then put things away with another basket on ULs' next trip down court, giving them a 63-59 lead with only :32 remaining.
From there, the Cajuns hung on for the hard fought two-point win, their second conference victory, and first at home this season.
UT-Arlington finished the game out-shooting Louisiana from the floor, 39%-36%, but the Cajuns completed the game with a 40-34 rebound advantage, and also forced 21 turnovers.
Sylvana Okde led the way for Louisiana, scoring a team-high 20 points, while Wilridge finished with 13.
In a losing cause for UT-Arlington, Laila Suleiman scored a game-high 25 points.
With the victory, Louisiana improved to 9-5 overall, and 2-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, while UT-Arlington dropped to 1-14 overall, and 0-4 in league play.
The Cajuns return to action on Wednesday night, when they travel to Mobile, Alabama to take on the South Alabama Jaguarsin Sun Belt Conference play.