UTA Rally Takes Down Cajuns,

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns jumped out to a 21-9 first quarter lead and led by 14 at halftime, but UTA chipped away and then dominated the fourth quarter enroute to a 79-66 win over the Cajuns at the College Park Center in Arlington, TX Thursday night.

UTA (12-4, 5-1 Sun Belt) outscored the Cajuns 21-11 in the third quarter to get within four points as the final quarter began.  The Cajuns (10-5, 4-2) held the Mavericks at bay for a time, but Crystal Allen tied the game at 56 all with a three pointer at the 5:27 mark.  Jasmine Thomas hit one of two free throws to give the Cajuns their final lead, But Cierra Johnson hit a layup to give UTA the lead for good and Allen followed with eight straight points to increase the lead to 66-57 with 2:30 remaining and the Cajuns never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

UTA outscored the Cajuns 54-27 in the second half.

Johnson narrowly missed a triple double and led UTA with 24 points, nine rebounds and eleven asssists.  Allen scored 14, with ten of them coming during the final flurry, while Rebecca Van Dijk also scored 14 points and had nine rebounds.

Jaylyn Gordon led the Cajuns with 25 points, with 12 of them coming in the first quarter.  Jasmine Thomas added 20.  But Simone Fields battled foul trouble throughout the game and was held scoreless.

Louisiana completes their road trip Saturday at 2:00 pm when they take on Texas State.