LAFAYETTE, La. – Skyler Goodwin scored 17 points while Ty'Reona Doucet grabbed 18 rebounds to help lead Louisiana to a 73-68 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over the University of South Alabama Thursday at the Cajundome.
Goodwin was 7-of-7 at the free-throw line, including connecting on all six attempts in the final two minutes as the Ragin' Cajuns (9-5, 2-1 Sun Belt) held off a rally that saw South close to within one point midway through the final period.
Antoinette Lewis scored a game-high 23 points to go along with nine rebounds for the Jaguars (6-9, 1-2 SBC) while Shaforia Kines finished with a double-double after recording 20 points and 15 boards.
Louisiana 73, South Alabama 63 (box score)
GAME FACTS
-UL connected on all three of their three-point attempts while limiting the Jags to 31.3-percent shooting to take a 21-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
- Savannah Jones and Kines each posted five points in the second period, while USA held the Ragin' Cajuns to just 5-of-17 shooting from the floor to close to within 31-26 at the break.
-The Cajuns were 8-of-12 from the field in the third quarter, but were only able to boost their lead to a six-point margin, 53-47, heading to the final period.
-Eight of the Jaguars' 17 turnovers came in the final quarter, while UL finished with just eight in the contest.
-USA shot 44.1 percent from the floor in the game, but the Ragin' Cajuns overcame a 36.1 field-goal percentage by attempting 13 more shots than the Jags.
-Both teams connected on better than 45 percent from three-point range, with South going 8-of-15 (53.3%) and UL making 6-of-13 (46.2%) of its attempts from beyond the arc.
NOTES
-It's the first time the Cajuns have defeated USA since the 2017-18 season.
-UL became the first opponent since Texas State on March 2 a year ago to finish with fewer than 10 turnovers against the Jags.
-The Jaguars have now shot 50 percent or better from three-point range in two of their three outings in 2020.
-Lewis posted her first 20-point game since scoring a career-best 36 in a Nov. 26 win over Mobile, while it marked the first occasion she has posted 20 or more points against an NCAA Division I opponent since the Jags played Miami (Ohio) in the Preseason WNIT on Nov. 15.
-This was the first time since that UM contest that Lewis has led the squad in scoring.
-It's the second time in the last three outings that Kines has grabbed a double-figure rebound total after accomplishing the feat once in her first 107 appearances as a Jaguar.
-The senior guard also recorded her second double-double of the season and third of her career.
-Jones has scored in double digits in each of the last four games after sinking a three-pointer with 16 seconds to go in the contest.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
On the slow start in the first quarter: "We fought back and still had a chance late in the ball game, it was 55-52 and we missed two layups which were opportunities to cut it to one and go ahead and take the lead. If we could've hit those it would have put pressure on them to make shots, but instead they were able to go down and make a couple of baskets that gave them a cushion."
On the opportunities to take the lead in the fourth quarter: "It was tough for us to finish around the rim in the first half, I thought in the second half we did a much better job. It was tough against the length of Doucet in there so we didn't capitalize on some opportunities that were there for us, especially in transition. Then we had a key possession when we turned it over against the press inbounding the ball, we didn't get a chance to go down and score. We left some things out there, but our kids fought and battled, I was pleased with that. We have to learn from this one, move on and be ready to play on Saturday."
On playing ULM at home on Saturday: "We can't have the letdown that we had against Coastal Carolina, we have to be ready to come out and play even though we had a hard-fought game on the road. We have to get back home and be able to play on Saturday."
Up next: South will play host to ULM at the Mitchell Center on Saturday, with the game set to start at 3 p.m. (CST).
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give
—USA—
