Faced with a double-digit deficit in the third quarter, Arkansas State women’s basketball battled back to take an early fourth-quarter lead, but Louisiana would regain momentum down the stretch to defeat the Red Wolves 70-58 Saturday at First National Bank Arena.
Peyton Martin became the 24th player in program history to join the illustrious 1,000-point club at A-State, as she and Karolina Szydlowska led four players in double figures for the Red Wolves (9-3, 4-2 SBC) with 12 points each. However, the Ragin’ Cajuns (4-5, 3-1) outscored A-State 18-7 in the final 10 minutes to sweep the weekend series.
“(Louisiana) did a good job,” head coach Matt Daniel said. “They start four seniors and one junior. They were just resilient. In the first half, it looked like we were trying to figure out if we could (win) without Jireh (Washington), and then in the second half we figured out that we had to. We fought differently. It’s going to be a grind from here on out and I thought we fought back. We just didn’t have enough juice.”
Morgan Wallace recorded her second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Trinitee Jackson notched a solid day with 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting. As a team, A-State shot 36.2 percent (21-58) from the field and 34.8 percent (8-23) from deep.
Brandi Williams led four Ragin’ Cajuns in double figures with a game-high 18 points on 5 of 9 shooting, including 4 of 6 from three-point range. Skyler Goodwin and Ty’Reona Doucet each added 14 points while Jomyra Mathis added a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Louisiana shot 43.9 percent from the field (25-57), 42.9 percent (6-14) from three and 77.8 percent (14-18) from the free-throw line, while outrebounding A-State 40 to 32.
Louisiana took an 11-0 lead to start the game, but A-State managed to trim the deficit down to eight twice – once on a three-point play by Jackson and then again on a turnaround jumper by Martin. A layup by Bre-Yelle Porter then a buzzer-beating trey by Mathis gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 22-8 lead after the first period.
A-State cut it to 10 on four straight points by Jackson, but the Ragin’ Cajuns went on a 5-0 run to lead by 15. After a three by Williams upped Louisiana’s lead to 16 with under four minutes, the Red Wolves fought back with a 7-0 run, capped off by a three by Szydlowska followed by a steal and score on the inbounds by Stinson to make it 34-25 with 25 seconds to go in the half. Williams then sank a pair of free throws, giving Louisiana a 36-25 lead at the half.
The Red Wolves surged back in the third, chipping away at the Ragin’ Cajuns’ lead with five three-pointers, including three by Szydlowska. A transition layup by Stinson beat the buzzer, cutting Louisiana’s lead to just one at 52-51 with one quarter to play. In the third, A-State outscored Louisiana 26-16.
After a free throw by Martin and layup by Wallace gave A-State its first lead of the evening, up 54-52 with 9:13 to play, the Ragin’ Cajuns sparked an 11-0 run to regain the lead for good, up 63-54 with 2:27 to play. Martin’s 1,000th point broke the run at the 2:12 mark to trim the deficit to seven, but Louisiana scored seven of the next nine points to leave Jonesboro with the 70-58 win.
A-State is slated to return to action Friday, Jan. 29, taking on UT Arlington in the first game of a two-game series. Tipoff from the College Park Center in Arlington is slated for 6 p.m. CT. The broadcast can be watched live on ESPN+ while the radio broadcast can be heard on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket.
Five Things To Note:
- Peyton Martin became the 24th player in program history to score 1,000 points in a career.
- Trinitee Jackson scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and the seventh time in her career.
- Morgan Wallace recorded a double-double for the second straight contest, her 11th of her career.
- Arkansas State forced double-digit turnovers for the 12th consecutive game to open the season.
- Karolina Szydlowska scored a career-high 12 points
For the latest on the A-State women’s basketball program, follow @AStateWB on Twitter and @astatewbb on Instagram, while also liking the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolvesWBB.
