Heartbreak

 
Southern didn’t lose their season opener because it was pivotal. Instead, their 71-69 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette in the F.G. Clark Activity Center Friday came because they didn’t “play well,” according to head coach Sandy Pugh.
That was evident through Pugh’s frustration, as she stormed through chairs leaving for the locker room after the game.
Pugh was straight to the point when asked about her teams’ performance, “they just didn’t take care of the basketball,” she said.
When the night was over, Southern had 20 turnovers. The Ragin’ Cajuns, on the other hand, committed 11.
The turnovers were a problem across the board for SU.
There were five credited to guard Adrian Sanders, who led SU with 15 points. Yasmin Fuller and Jasmine King had three apiece and the rest of the team had 9.
“When you add all of that in that’s not a good mix for us,” Pugh said.
Tulane, the Jaguars next opponent, is 1-0 after creating 22 turnovers against Louisiana Tech.
SU committed 13 turnovers in the second half, and the Ragin’ Cajuns turned them into 20 points.
SU tied the game 69-69 after Laneisha Stephens sunk two foul shots with 39 seconds remaining in the game, but the Ragin’ Cajuns weren’t thinking overtime.
ULL got the ball back and missed a layup with 12 seconds left. By the end, Sanders made the biggest play that lifted ULL over SU. She turned it over.
“We had one timeout left,” said Pugh. “I don’t know what went through my PG (Sanders) head at that moment.”
On the deciding play, Sanders’ pass was deflected then retrieved by Kia Wilridge, who recovered the ball in plenty of time for a layup.
“Kia Wilridge is one of the fastest kids I’ve seen at point guard,” ULL head coach Garry Brodhead said after the game. ‘I’m glad nobody else picked it up because she’s the only one with two and a half seconds to get down there. We try to teach our kids to play through every play and that’s what she did.”
ULL picked up its second straight win over SU and first for Brodhead, who was named head coach of the Ragin’ Cajuns in April.
He spent five seasons at McNeese State, which included two Southland Conference titles.
“I watched film on them,” he said. “They’re more athletic than us and I didn’t know how we we’re going to take care of the ball. To fight through that and get a win is pretty big.”
Pugh wants to see her team improve before their next home game against the Green Waves. Improving on both ends of the court and building the confidence they tried to build during the offseason will be critical for Southern.
“It doesn’t get easier for us going down the stretch,” Pugh said.