Cajuns Cruise Past UCSB for Fifth Straight Win

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns opened up a double digit lead after the first quarter and were never headed as they defeated UC Santa Barbara 61-42 before 2,773 fans Tuesday morning at the Cajundome in the annual "Education Day."

The crowd was made up of mostly elementary school students who were bused to the 'Dome from the Acadiana area.

The youngsters were treated to a terrific performance from Kia Wilridge, who posted a double double with 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cajuns in both categories.  Jaylyn Gordon scored 13 points and Keke Veal added 12 to round out the Cajuns' double figure scorers.

The win was the fifth straight for Louisiana as the Cajuns improved their record to 7-1 on the year.  UCSB dropped to 1-10 with the loss.  The Gauchos failed to put a scorer in double figures and were led by Coco Miller with eight points.

UCSB shot 47.1% for the game, but got only 34 shots as the Cajuns forced 28 turnovers and outrebounded the taller Gauchos 37-22.  The Cajuns, meanwhile were 25-56 for the game (44.6%.).  The Cajuns suffered an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers in the contest.

The Cajuns never trailed in the contest and essentially put the game away in the first six minutes as Louisiana went on a 12-0 to turn a one point lead into a 17-4 margin.  Gordon hit a pair of triples during the run, while Veal, Simone Fields and Jodi Quinn added buckets as well during the 2:46 blitz.

UCSB never got within eight points the rest of the way.  The Cajuns led by eleven, 30-19 at the half and never let up as they increased their lead to 24 points, 61-37 with just over two minutes to play.

The Cajuns now head to north Louisiana for a date with Louisiana Tech, who the Cajuns defeated for the first time in program history a year ago.  Game time is set for 6pm at the Thomas Assembly Center.