Saints Women Prevail Over Louisiana Christian 65-63

PINEVILLE, LA. (Jan. 20, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) women's basketball team shut down Louisiana Christian University's (LCU) offense in a 65-63 victory on Saturday. The Saints improve to 5-11 overall and 4-7 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Wildcats drop to 6-8 overall and 3-7 in conference play.

Head Coach Tanya Ray commented, "This was a great team win today. We did a great job of sharing the ball offensively. They have the leading scorer in the conference, and we did a good job of making her work for every shot. We made plays when we needed to in a tough road environment."

History

The Saints were 2-2 against the Wildcats prior to the game.

Basics

The Saints' defense stepped up against the Wildcats on Saturday. They limited LCU to 18.2 percent shooting in the first quarter and 36.8 percent in the second. The Saints complimented the defense with 32 points in the first half. The Saints took a one-point lead to the break, backed by eight points from Julia Plata.

The Wildcats outscored the Saints by two points in the third quarter to gain a one-point lead. The game was tied with under a minute left, and Ariadna Gallardo made a layup to put the Saints on top. The Wildcats turned the ball over on the next possession. OLLU missed a layup with 15 seconds left and LCU had one last chance to tie or win the game. They missed a layup and had another chance after an offensive rebound, but OLLU's defense stood tall to secure the victory.

Offensive/defensive standouts

Tiffany Lopez and Plata led the Saints with 13 points each. Cormia Lewis tallied a team-high eight rebounds. Carrie Barrera-Lacy totaled six assists.

DaKayla Howard led LCU with 15 points. Maya Washington and Princis Goff grabbed a team-high nine rebounds apiece. Howard also led the team with four assists.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 23-of-62 shooting for 37.1 percent, 5-of-15 from three-point range for 33.3 percent and hit all 14 free throws. LCU shot 21-of-58 for 36.2 percent, 5-of-16 three pointers for 31.3 percent and 16-of-19 from the free-throw line for 84.2 percent.

The Saints grabbed 30 rebounds while LCU collected 47. The Saints forced 22 turnovers and committed 13.

Up next

The Saints return home to battle Jarvis Christian University on Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m.