LU falls short at Louisiana-Lafayette, 70-51 :: Lamar returns to action Dec. 30 against Oral Roberts

Dec. 22, 2004

LAFAYETTE, La. - A 10-point outing by freshman Shaquita Coffey and a career-high five blocks from Megan McDougald were not enough to lift the Lamar women's basketball team past Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday night, as the Lady Cardinals lost a 70-51 non-conference decision at Earl K. Long Gym on the UL campus.

The loss snapped the Lady Cardinals three-game winning streak and dropped LU to 6-3 on the year. The Ragin' Cajuns improved to 9-3 for the season, while winning their fourth consecutive game against Lamar.

Coffey, a 6-1 native of Beaumont, was the only Lady Cardinal to reach double figures, as she connected on 5-of-6 shots from the floor. McDougald, a junior from The Woodlands, led Lamar with eight rebounds, while tying a career-high with five blocks. She contributed all eight of her points in the second frame.

Carrying a 29-22 lead into the second half, Louisiana-Lafayette quickly built its lead to double digits on a jumper by Onna Charles with 17:30 left to play. The Lady Cards were able to pull within eight points on three occasions, but they were never able to put together a run to get within striking distance.

Shayla Lacy's three-pointer with 6:38 remaining closed the gap to eight (49-41), but it was the last time Lamar was within single digits.

UL opened the game with a 10-2 run, due in large part to hot shooting by Anna Petrakova. The 6-1 Russian knocked down 3-of-4 shots in the opening minutes and finished the first half with 11 to lead all scorers. After falling into the early deficit, the Lady Cardinals rallied with a 9-0 run to take a one-point lead, 11-10. Following a bucket by UL's Petrakova, LU pushed its advantage to two (14-12) moments later on junior Bridgette Brackens second three-pointer of the half.

An almost five-minute Lamar scoreless streak allowed UL to post a 7-0 run and regain the lead 19-14 with 9:55 remaining in the opening frame. LU briefly grabbed the lead back from the Ragin' Cajuns at the 6:11 mark when Coffey dropped in two of her six first-half points. Coffey added another bucket moments later, but the Ragin' Cajuns outscored Lamar 10-2 down the stretch to take a 29-22 lead into the intermission.

Brackens finished with eight points for Lamar, as did sophomore LaToya Carson. Carson also chipped in six rebounds and three steals. Freshman Chelsea Gugliotta and junior Audrea Samuel each added six points in the losing effort.

Petrakova led all scorers with game-highs of 24 points and nine rebounds, while Bernette Tolston added 11 points and four boards.

After the holiday break, Lamar returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 30, hosting Oral Roberts in non-conference action at 5 p.m. in the Montagne Center as part of a men's and women's doubleheader.