Koranga Excels, Troy Falls to Louisiana

Thursday, January 13

Lafayette, La.

6 p.m.

Troy University

12-6,3-1Sun Belt

Louisiana

10-3,2-1Sun Belt

Troy

Louisiana

1/13/2022 9:58:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

LAFAYETTE, La. – Despite a career-high 25 points from forward Felmas Koranga, Troy fell to Louisiana, 92-83, Thursday at the Cajundome.

On 9-of-16 shooting, Koranga kept the Trojans (12-3, 3-1 Sun Belt) in a hard-fought fourth quarter battle with 25 points, eight boards and a steal.

Led by 23 points from Ty'Reona Doucet, Louisiana (10-3, 2-1 Sun Belt) finished the contest with three players scoring 20-plus points.

In a game with 56 fouls called, Troy made 20-of-29 free throws while the Ragin' Cajuns went 32-of-39 from the line.

How It Happened
A slow start from both sides saw an even 7-7 matchup through the first five minutes of action before back-to-back jumpers from Jasmine Robinson and Koranga allowed the Trojans to start building a lead with 3:53 to go. Both sides traded makes through the winding minutes of the opening period with Louisiana's Diamond Morrison cutting Troy's lead to two, 22-20, in the final six seconds.

The Ragin' Cajun momentum built by Morrison carried into the second, where Louisiana strung together an 8-0 stretch spanning to the 6:55 mark. Troy slowly etched away at the deficit until Koranga cut it to two with 2:12 to play in the second, but a 9-0 run for Louisiana saw the Trojans down 10, 41-31, at the break.

Louisiana held at least a six-point lead throughout the entirety of the third quarter of action, expanding its lead to as many as 10 after a pair of free throws from Lanay Wheaton with 1:33 to go. After trading baskets, Doucet hit a jumper to extend the Ragin' Cajun lead to nine at the end of the third.

However, the Trojans put up a hard-fought battle in the fourth quarter after kickstarting the period on a 7-3 run to cut the deficit to just three. Louisiana again ballooned its lead 12, but the Trojans utilized a 12-3 run capped off by a Janiah Sandifer triple to bring the score to 83-81 with 1:44 to play. After trading makes, Sharonica Hartsfield was called for a foul on what looked to be a jump ball, allowing Louisiana's Destiny Rice to make two free throws and extend the lead to five, ultimately sealing the game away.

Notable

Alongside Koranga's 25 points, Janiah Sandifer (14), Za'Nautica Downs (13) and Tiyah Johnson (12) all finished the game in double figures.
With her 14 points, Sandifer recorded her first double-digit scoring game of the season.
Jhileiya Dunlap finished the game with double-digit rebounds after grabbing 14 boards tonight.
After snapping a 298-game three point streak, the Trojans kickstarted a new streak with three makes from distance tonight.