LAFAYETTE, La. – The scene was set for another thrilling comeback for Little Rock. For the second consecutive game, the Trojans trailed by 13 to start the final quarter before slowly creeping back. But trailing by three with the final seconds ticking away, the season came down to a last second, game-tying 3-pointer that ricocheted off the rim in a 49-46 loss to No. 4 Louisiana Wednesday evening.
The crowd of 369 at the Cajundome collectively held their breath as
Sydney Chastain's game-tying attempt failed to go in, which came as a surprise as the senior finished the game with an impressive 5-for-9, 13-point performance that included three treys. Fifth-seeded Little Rock (12-19) ended its season with the loss while Louisiana (19-12) advances to face No. 1 Troy Saturday evening in New Orleans.
Trojan fans saw a double-digit deficit evaporate for the second consecutive night after Little Rock erased a 13-point fourth quarter deficit for a 48-47 win against Appalachian State Tuesday night. App would not hit a field goal in the final 3:41.
The same situation presented itself for Little Rock Wednesday as Louisiana hit just one field goal – a Brandi Williams pull-up jumper with 54 seconds remaining – over the final 17 minutes of play. The difference Wednesday night came at the free throw line, where Louisiana hit 24 of 32 attempts compared to Little Rock's just nine attempts on five trips to the charity stripe.
Louisiana relied upon Ty'Reona Doucet's game-high 24 points, 14 of which came from the free throw line on 18 attempts. Skyler Goodwin added 11 points for the Ragin' Cajuns.
Little Rock trailed by as many as 16 with 2:25 left in the third quarter when Doucet hit a pair of free throws. Then the Trojans went to work, cutting the deficit to 13 as
Kyra Collier hit a free throw. Collier led the Trojans with 14 points.
The defensive lockdown continued into the fourth quarter as the Trojans chipped away at the lead. Chastain, Collier and
Tori Lasker each hit a 3-pointer and Little Rock pulled within one, 47-46, on a Collier and-1 play with less than 90 seconds to go. But Williams shot broke the slump for the Cajuns with 54 seconds to go and it kept another remarkable comeback out of reach of the Trojans.
Little Rock's defense gave the Cajuns fits all game as Louisiana hit just 12 field goals in the game – limiting Louisiana to just three assists for the second time this season – but scored 24 points on free throws.
Teal Battle scored 12 points for the Maroon and Silver but fouled out in the third quarter.
Wednesday's loss ended the 2019-20 season for the Trojans.
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