UL Women Come From Way Back To Beat Troy, 56-53

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun women’s basketball team recorded a Sun Belt Conference home win on Saturday, capturing a 56-53 come-from-behind win over the Troy Trojans at the Cajundome.

The win, in the second game of a five-game homestand, was the fourth-straight for Louisiana, and improved their record at home this season to a perfect 8-0.

Down, 25-10, at the 4:21 mark of the second quarter, Louisiana overcame a 15-point deficit, as they improved their conference home record to 3-0 on the season.

Louisiana scored the first five points of the game, and led, 7-6, at the 4:45 mark of the first quarter, before Troy scored 7-unanswered points, to grab a 13-7 advantage with :57 left in the period.

The Trojans went on to lead, 13-10, at the end of the initial quarter, before taking a 29-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Troy outshot Louisiana from the floor in the first half, 40%/23%, while holding down a 13-11 rebound advantage.

Ta'kierra Gibbs led the way for the Trojans over the first 20 minutes, scoring 13 points and pulling down 4 rebounds, while Keke Veal paced the Cajuns with 5 points and 4 rebounds.

UL went on a run to begin the second half, outscoring Troy, 9-0, over the first 4:05 of the third quarter, to trim the deficit to 29-26 at the 5:55 mark of the third period.

The Trojans answered right back however, going on an 8-1 run of their own, to extend their lead to 37-27, at the 4:28 mark of the third, before going on to hold a 41-35 lead after three complete periods.

Trailing, 47-41, with 6:25 to go, Louisiana got back-to-back field goals from Kia Wilridge and Veal, to get within two points, 47-45, with 5:29 left.

After a free throw by La'tia Fils-Aime' that gave the Trojans a 48-45 advantage, Jaylin Gordon nailed a three-pointer for the Cajuns to tie the game, 48-48, with 5:07 to go.

Nearly 3:00 later, at the 2:10 mark, Veal hit a jumper, to give Louisiana a 50-48 lead, their first advantage since the first quarter, before Troy's Ashley Beverly Kelley responded with a bucket of her own, to once again even the game, 50-50, with 1:52 left.

The Cajuns once again regained the lead, courtesy of free throws, including one by Veal, and two more by Gordon, to take a 53-50 lead with :23 left.

After a Troy turnover, Louisiana got another two free throws from Gordon, as they went on to 56-53 come-from-behind victory.

Troy ended the game outshooting Louisiana from the field, 35%/33%, but UL outshot the visitors in the second half, 48%/29%, including going 4-7 from beyond the three-point arc, while forcing 23 turnovers.

Gordon led the way for the Cajuns, finishing with 23 points and 6 rebounds, while Veal added 12 points and 4 boards.

In a losing cause for the Trojans, Gibbs finished with 17 points and 7 boards.

View the game box score.

With the victory, Louisiana improved to 14-3, overall, and 7-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Troy dropped to 10-7, and 5-3, respectively.

The Cajuns return to action on Thursday at 5 o’clock, when they play host to the Texas St. Bobcats in the opening game of a day/night, women’s/men’s doubleheader at the Cajundome.