LAFAYETTE, LA. - Appalachian State University women's basketball (4-7, 1-1 SBC) fell on the road Saturday evening in a physical contest to UL Lafayette, 60-51, in the Cajundome.
App State Starters: #3 Bria Carter, #10 Joi Jones, #23 KeKe Cooper,#34 Madi Story, #42 Mia Marshall
ULL Starters: #1 Brooklyn Arceneaux, #10 Kia Wildridge, #11 Jaylyn Gordon, #24 Keke Veal, #32 Simone Fields
Kaila Craven scored a career-high 17 points (14 in the second half) on six buckets, including three trifectas. The freshman guard was the lone player in double figures while leading all scorers. Jones turned in nine points and four rebounds while Cooper chipped in with eight points and corralled a game-high nine boards.
Turnovers and foul shots plagued the Mountaineers where they committed 24 miscues that led to 24 points off the mistakes for the Rajin' Cajuns. ULL (9-2, 2-0 SBC) also held a significant advantage at the free throw line where it went 28-for-41 to App State's 6-for-9 production from the charity stripe. The fouls were also in ULL's favor,34-16.
App State did shoot 38.2 percent from the field while limiting ULL to its second-lowest shooting clip of the season at 31.4 percent. The defense played tremendous on the duo of KeKe Veal and Jaylyn Gordon, who came into the game averaging 30.3 points combined, put in just 20 points between the pair and shot 2-for-16 from the field.
Kia Wildridge went on to score a team-high 15 points for the hosts.
The Black and Gold outrebounded the Rajin' Cajuns 39-33 and posted a 10-4 advantage in second chance points. Appalachian won the battle in the paint 32-24 and recorded 25 points from the bench to 13 from ULL's reserves.
Despite 13 first half turnovers, the Apps were able to go into halftime with a 23-18 deficit. Both teams struggled from the floor in a defensive stalemate as the two foes shot under 35 percent.
Neither team scored until the 8:01 mark of the opening quarter with ULL taking a 2-0 lead, and the Mountaineers didn't find their first bucket until Carter hit a pair of free throws midway through the period.
Craven's 3-pointer in the first frame capped off a 5-0 spurt that gave Appalachian its first lead, 5-4, at the 5:19 mark. The Rajin' Cajuns would score eight of the next 10 points to go into the second quarter with a 12-7 lead.
App State came out of the second quarter hitting four-straight buckets and five of its last six shots to capture a 15-13 lead thanks to Story hitting one of three field goals. The Mountaineers started the contest 1-for-8 before finally starting to catch a rhythm midway through the period. However, a 5:32 scoring drought ensued and a 9-2 run from ULL gave the hosts the lead going into the break.
Appalachian had six different players score while holding ULL to just 20.7 percent shooting from the field.
Following a quick three points from the Rajin' Cajuns to start the second half with a six-point lead, 26-20, The Black and Gold put together an 8-3 over a 1:20 span that sliced the deficit to just one, 29-28. Craven led the charge with four points while Jones and
Jasmine Ogunjimi both chipped in with layups.
But when it looked like App State would take control of the game, ULL hit timely shots to keep the lead. Appalachian cut the lead to one once more in the third quarter before Louisiana went into the final frame with a 42-39 lead.
Ashley Bassett-Smith started the fourth quarter with a layup off an assist from Cooper that cut the lead to 42-41. Once again the hosts responded with six quick points to go ahead,47-41, with 3:52 left in the game. The Mountaineers kept fighting in the contest to trim the deficit down to one possession after Cooper came up with a clutch pair of buckets to close the gap, 50-47.
But that was as close the Mountaineers would get with the Rajin Cajuns hitting two-straight buckets and converting on their final six free throws to seal the win.
App State will look to get back on track with its conference home opener against UT Arlington at 5 p.m. inside the Holmes Center on Thursday.
Tip-Ins- Craven's 17 points is the fifth time in the last six games she's scored in double figures after not hitting at least 10 points in the first five games of the season.
- Cooper's 4-for-6 performance and her nine boards helped her lead the team with a PER of 12.
- Ogunjimi played a career-high 23 minute off the bench, scored four points and was the lone player who had zero turnoves and at least 20 minutes of action.
- The team's five assists is the lowest since a setback earlier in the season to South Dakota.
