Lady Tigers hang on for first win of the season downing Lady Cajuns, 62-57

Photo By: Brittney Achord

12/15/2020
By: Brittney Achord
Da Boot Sports!

    The 0-3 Lady Tigers hit the court again as they would host the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Monday afternoon. Coming into this contest, LSU has never lost to UL in women's basketball holding a 24-0 record in the series. After tonight's hard fought 62-57 victory, it now stands at 25-0.
  Senior Faustine Aifuwa led the Tigers on the night with a double-double, scoring 15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 bocks, 1 steal.  Sophomore Domonique Davis also played well bringing much needed energy to the team scoring 13 points total, while adding 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. She's definitely one to watch throughout the rest of the season.  Sophomore Tiara Young and Khayla Pointer would each contribute double digit points tonight scoring 10 points each. 
    Below is our 'Da Boot Sports' game breakdown on how the Lady Tigers were able to walk away with a 5-point win.... . 

          1st QUARTER: 
    The Lady Tigers would take the early lead thanks to Rakell Spencer's basket.  Both teams would battle up and down the court in a close 1st quarter of play.  The Lady Tigers finish off the quarter with 12 points, shooting 40% from the floor. Huge improvement from their first three contest. LSU would also play solid defense, holding the Cajuns to only 8 points in the period.   12-8 LSU lead.
 

          2nd QUARTER: 
    LSU would begin the 2nd quarter with a 7-0 run with back to back baskets by
seniors Faustine Aifuwa and Jailin Cherry, and a three pointer from Khayla Pointer extending the Tigers lead to 19-8.  UL would respond with a 6-0 to cut LSU's lead down to five, 19-14 with 4:16 left in the first half.  
    Both teams would continue to take turns making runs at each other, as the Lady Tigers
would respond with another quick 7-0 run to go up 26-14 with 3:01 left.
   For the final three minutes the Lady Cajuns would take control and cut deep into LSU's lead, taking their next turn with a run outscoring the Lady Tigers, 8-2 to end the half. LSU would hold a 28-22 lead at the half. 
    The Lady Tigers, while playing perhaps their best game of the season, would continue to struggle shooting at times. A problem that Coach Nikki Fargas hopes to improve on in the near future. 



 
          3rd QUARTER: 
    UL would control the ball to start the 3rd period. Faustine Aifuwa would come up with a nice blocked shot, sending both teams racing up and down the court until Jaymara Mathis would hit a jumper for the Cajuns at the 19:01 mark. Two minutes later, LSU would go on a 8-0 run, extending their lead to 12 points, 36-24 with 6:37 to go in the period.  Both teams would begin to trade baskets with each other towards the end of the period, as LSU would go into the final period leading UL, 47-39.



           4th QUARTER: 
    Leading by eight to start the 4th period, the Tigers would find themselves beginning to cool down as they would begin to struggle to score. The Ragin’ Cajun’s would begin to close in on the Tiger’s lead. UL would go on a 11-4 run over the next five minutes to pull within a point, 53-52. 
    From here, Faustine Aifuwa would step up huge for her team as she would own the boards and score six of her 15 points on the night over the final four minutes of the game, helping the Lady Tigers seal the 62-57 victory to give LSU their first win of the 2020-21 season. 



    Next up the Lady Tigers will travel to Las Vegas to participate in the "Duel in the Desert"..  They will take on Pacific on Saturday, Dec. 19th at 3pm. Then battle Loyola Marymount on Sunday, Dec. 20th at 2pm.  

---

Photos By: Brittney Achord

---

Photos below By: LSU/SEC