Little Rock Drops Series Opener at Louisiana

LAFAYETTE, La. – Krystan Vornes posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Teal Battle scored a team-leading 15 points and Trinitee Alexander added 10 points to reach double figures in her first career start but Little Rock dropped the series opener, 63-52, at Louisiana Friday night in Lafayette.
 
The Trojans (13-9, 9-6 Sun Belt) surged in the third quarter, out-scoring the host Ragin' Cajuns 22-19 but low scoring second and fourth quarters once again plagued Little Rock. Louisiana (13-5, 12-1) won its 12^th straight game with 41.5% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from 3-point range.
 
Teal Battle came off the bench to score a team-leading 15 points as she saw action in her 100^th career game played in a Little Rock uniform.
 
Alexander, who also made her first career start, not only reached double figures but scored the first points of her career while also grabbing four rebounds. Paloma Iradier, another freshman to record her first career start, scored six points and grabbed four rebounds.
 
Twice in the third quarter Little Rock cut its deficit to just two points, first with a Battle 3-pointer  and then two plays later with an Iradier layup. Louisiana would respond by hitting a pair of free throws by Skyler Goodwin then Hallman getting a steal and fastbreak layup to push the Cajun lead out to six. Little Rock would not be able to pull any closer than a five-point deficit for the remainder of the game.
 
Goodwin lead all scorers with 18 points for the Ragin' Cajuns while Ty'Reona Doucet and Brandi Williams both added 10 points.
 
The contest marked the second straight game where Little Rock was held to single digits in the second quarter as Louisiana limited the Trojans to six points in the frame. Little Rock shot just 3 of 13 (23%) in that quarter and committed seven turnovers throughout the 10-minute period.
 
Despite the loss, Little Rock out-rebounded Louisiana (35-33) and dished out 16 assists to Louisiana's six.
 
Friday's outcome (unofficially) secures the No. 3 West Division seed for Little Rock in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The league will official release the tournament bracket Sunday afternoon.
 
Before that happens, however, Little Rock and Louisiana will play once more to wrap up the regular season. Saturday's tip-off time is set for 4 p.m. with the game now being broadcast on ESPN3 in a network change announced earlier Friday. Louisiana, which has already secured the West Division title, need a win to clinch the overall regular season title.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Basketball, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWBB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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