Goodwin gets hot in second half to lead Cajuns to 8th straight win
Published 8:30 am Sunday, February 7, 2021
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LAFAYETTE — Skyler Goodwin simply took over the game.
The University of Louisiana senior guard had only three points at halftime, as she shot 1-of-5 from the field in the first two quarters of play Saturday in the Cajundome.
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With her team trailing visiting Arkansas State 31-27 entering the third quarter, Goodwin felt she needed to take over.
“I could tell our team was kind of down at one point,” Goodwin said. “I just told myself that I am going to start taking the shots I am comfortable with.”
Those shots started to fall and kept on falling as Goodwin went on to score 21 of her game-high 24 points in the second half and lead the Cajuns to a 72-61 win.
“I just felt comfortable with my shot,” Goodwin said. “The defense couldn’t handle me, they couldn’t handle that pullup that I was doing. So I just take it to them.”
Early in the first quarter, UL’s Makayia Hallmon hit a 3-pointer that ignited an 11-3 run for the Ragin’ Cajuns and provided the team with an 18-6 lead with more than four minutes left in the opening quarter.
Arkansas State closed out the quarter with an 8-0 run to tie the game 16-16.
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The two programs went back-and-forth in the second quarter but the Red Wolves managed to hold a 4-point lead at halftime.
Arkansas State (9-7, 4-6 SBC) proceeded to build an 8-point lead midway through the third quarter. UL made that deficit disappear as Hallmon hit a 3-pointer, followed by back-to-back jump shots by Goodwin.
“We were trying to run that screen and roll stuff,” Ragin’ Cajuns coach Garry Brodhead said. “We couldn’t do that and they were playing off and that left (Goodwin) wide open.”
The Red Wolves responded and then pushed their lead back to as much as 7 points. Entering the final quarter, the Ragin’ Cajuns trailed 49-45.
Kimberly Burton got things rolling with a jumper and that was followed up by more Goodwin who drained a second-chance jumper to tie the game and then took the lead by a pair of free throws.
UL (9-5, 8-1 SBC) pushed the lead to 5 and then later 6 after a 3-point play by Goodwin. With 4:04 left in the game, the Ragin’ Cajuns held a 61-56 lead and would secure the win by outscoring the Red Wolves 10-4 in the final two minutes.
A night after shooting only 28 percent from the field, the Ragin’ Cajuns shot 40.3 percent, and 43.8 from beyond the arc in Saturday’s victory.
In addition to Goodwin’s 24 points, Hallmon scored 12 points and Destiny McAfee added 11 off the bench.
The Ragin’ Cajuns won’t have much time to celebrate winning their eighth-straight conference game. UL returns to action on Monday when the team hosts UTA. Tip is set for 4 p.m.
“Basically we have to have amnesia,” Goodwin said. “We have to recover, we have to get our minds right, we have to be prepared to get back in the gym to practice. It’s not going to be an easy game. We have to go in there and earn it.”