SEC WOMEN

UA women falter in fourth quarter

Arkansas' Malica Monk (3) and Jessica Jackson (00) guard Tulsa's Te'era Williams Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, during second quarter action at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Arkansas' Malica Monk (3) and Jessica Jackson (00) guard Tulsa's Te'era Williams Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, during second quarter action at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

Louisiana-Lafayette used a big fourth quarter to defeat Arkansas 67-59 Friday in the opening round of the San Juan Shootout in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Arkansas led 50-46 after three quarters, but the Ragin' Cajuns outscored the Razorbacks 21-9 over the final quarter to pull out the victory.

It marked Louisiana-Lafayette's second victory over an SEC team this season. The Ragin' Cajuns, members of the Sun Belt Conference, defeated Ole Miss 82-78 in their season opener. It marks the first time Louisiana-Lafayette has defeated two SEC teams in the same season.

"We are capable of doing some things on the defensive side with pressure to create steals in order to generate some offense," Ragin' Cajuns Coach Garry Brodhead said. "I was confident that we could come back. Our defense really came up big with steals that led to layups to help us get back in the game."

Senior guard Keke Veal led Louisiana-Lafayette with 20 points, and senior guard Kia Wilridge had 19.

Junior Jessica Jackson led Arkansas with 22 points, and junior Kelsey Brooks added 16. Jackson has scored at least 10 points in all five of Arkansas' games this season and has managed at least 20 in four of those games. Brooks has scored at least 10 points in four games.

Tournament officials were unable to provide official statistics or a box score because of on-site computer problems.

"This is a very disappointing loss," Arkansas Coach Jimmy Dykes said. "They are a very good team, but you can't turn it over and expect to win.

"Louisiana might be the best team in their conference, and they played well today. We played well at times, but we have to be able to play well for 40 minutes."

The Razorbacks led the entire first quarter and into the second before the Ragin' Cajuns took their first lead, 19-17, with 7:52 left in the half. A three-pointer at the halftime buzzer gave Louisiana-Lafayette a 29-27 lead at the break.

The teams continued to trade leads until the fourth quarter, when Arkansas went cold from the field and the Ragin' Cajuns took control for good.

The Razorbacks play No. 7 Oregon State (3-0) at 1:30 p.m. Central today. Oregon State defeated Hofstra 73-58 on Friday.

Sports on 11/28/2015

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