ALEXANDRIA, LA – The Louisiana State University of Alexandria women's basketball team utilized a fourth quarter rally to take down Our Lady of the Lake University (8-16, 6-15 RRAC), 64-59.
"We came out on fire in the first quarter," LSUA Head Coach Billy Perkins said. "We were really gelling on offense and defense. I think we got a little relaxed in the third, we only scored six points, very disappointed in the third quarter. Way to respond to the challenge in the fourth quarter. We tried to platoon some and I'm very proud of our second bunch, we call them the Blue Bunch, in how they competed and kept the intensity."
Jewel Jones led the Generals (20-6, 17-5 RRAC) with 14 points. She finished 4-for-9 from the floor and shot 50% from long range. Jones is now 35 points away from reaching 1,000 for her career.
Benedetta Peracchi recorded 11 points. Peracchi led the Generals with eight rebounds.
In the first five minutes of play, the Generals took 13-5 lead. Three minutes later, three consecutive baskets from
Justice Young,
Kelly Norris, and
Aniyah Roundtree gave the Purple and Gold a 21-10 advantage with 1:48 left in the opening stanza.
A jumper from Peracchi made it 23-10, but the Saints knocked down a three for the quarter's final basket.
LSUA's lead reached 18 in the second quarter. Back-to-back threes from Jones and
Dannah Martin-Hartwick, plus a bucket from
Alexis Dyer, pushed the Generals' lead from 28-18 to 36-18 with under two minutes on the clock. A three and a layup from the Saints narrowed the gap to 13, before Dyer tallied the final bucket of the half. LSUA went into halftime leading 38-23.
Midway through the third quarter, OLLU cut the Generals' lead to 10. A three and another layup halved the deficit and brought the score to 41-36. After a three from Jones, OLLU went on a 9-0 run to close out the third quarter and take a 45-44 lead into the fourth.
The Saints extended their lead to six, 53-47, in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the quarter.
A free throw
Amani Gray, layups from Peracchi and Young, followed by two free throws from
Reese Stephens but the Generals back on top, 54-53.
OLLU knocked down a pair of jumpers on consecutive possessions and LSUA responded in kind. Peracchi and Martin-Hartwick each recorded a basket, before Gray knocked down a jumper for a three-point edge with a minute to play, 60-57.
Four free throws from Martin-Hartwick and Jones sealed the victory, 64-59.
The Generals are back at home for Senior Day on Saturday, February 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM against Texas A&M-San Antonio. LSUA will honor its senior class prior to tip-off.
