The lead changed hands three times in the opening minutes before a Camryn Whitaker steal and layup sparked a 14-2 Lady Topper run as Western (9-10, 3-2 Sun Belt East) opened up an 18-7 lead on a Tiffany Porter-Talbert three-point play with 14:30 left in the half. The Ragin' Cajuns (10-7, 4-2 Sun Belt West) were able to keep themselves in the game with some strong outside shooting as they knocked down five of their first eight shots from behind the arc. Louisiana-Lafayette kept the game close, and used a 9-2 run to the game at 30-30 on a Tiffany Washington layup with 4:48 left before halftime. After trading baskets, a jumper by Ashley Blanche gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 34-32 lead with 3:37 on the clock. The teams again traded baskets the rest of the half, and went into the lockerroom even at 36-36.
Leslie Logsdon led all scorers at the break with nine points, while Porter-Talbert tossed in nine for the Lady Toppers. Anna Petrakova and Alexandra Kotta each had nine to pace ULL.
After swapping baskets to start the half, a three-point play by Sharee Glenn sparked an 8-0 Ragin’ Cajun run as they took their largest lead of the game (49-40) on a Petrakova layup with 15:25 to play. A three by Elisha Ford stopped the bleeding, and sparked a 13-3 Western run as the Lady Toppers regained a 53-52 lead on back-to-back Porter-Talbert jumpers with 12:12 to go. Four straight free throws by Logsdon pushed the Lady Topper lead to five (57-52), but Tolston answered with a three that would start a 10-0 Cajun run to give them a 62-57 lead with 8:40 to play. ULL remained in front and built the lead back to eight points when a Washington layup made it a 70-62 game with just 3:53 remaining. After trading points, a Logsdon free throw and Whitaker three-point play got the Lady Toppers within four (72-68) with 1:33 to play, but Morgan Mayon put the nail in the coffin as she knocked down a three as the shot clock expired to push the lead back to seven with one minute remaining. Western was unable to recover as it suffered the six point defeat.
Petrakova led all scorers with 23 points to pace four Ragin’ Cajuns in double figures. Porter-Talbert led three Lady Toppers in double figures with 19 points, while pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the year. Logsdon added 17 points, while Whitaker tossed in 12.
Western will close out the month of January Saturday night, traveling to New Mexico State for an 8 p.m. (CST) date with the Aggies.
