Box Score
New Orleans – The Louisiana College women's basketball team overcame a sloppy first half to defeat Dillard University 67-53 Monday at Dent Gym.
Dillard scored just four points in the first eleven minutes of the second half, as Louisiana College pressed every in-bounds play to take and build a lead for the first time since the game's early minutes. Tillisha Givens ( Monroe , La. /Ouachita Parish High) led LC with 25 points, 19 of them coming in the second half, mostly in a 20-9 run that the visitors opened the second session with to seize control of the game.
“We needed to pick up our intensity,” LC Coach Janice Joseph-Richard said of her decision to press in the second half. The Lady Cats had attempted to press in the first half but played mostly zone after it was broken by Dillard. “I saw that their main ball handlers were out, so I felt more confidence with pressure.”
The Lady Bleu Devils showed signs of life with six minutes and three minutes left in the game, but both comeback attempts were snuffed out by turnovers and conversions by LC, usually through Givens or Voneshia Williams (Alexandria, La./Bolton High), who added 16 points to go with her team-high 17 rebounds.
“Tillisha and Voneshia were huge for us,” Joseph-Richard added. “Tillisha did great on the boards and we ran sets through her all game.”
Poor shooting (27 percent), six missed free throws, and 14 turnovers caused the Lady Cats problems in the first half, and the Lady Bleu Devils grabbed a six point advantage on their home floor.
Louisiana College could get no closer than one point as opportunities continued to come and go.
Dillard's lead was four at halftime, but they were unable to withstand the pressure put on by the LC out of the break.
Louisiana College had the advantage under the basket all evening, out-rebounding Dillard in the first half by 16, thanks to 11 boards by the freshman Williams. The final count was 55-35 in favor of the Lady Cats, including a plus-17 on the defensive boards.
Ariel Mitchell poured in 19 points and had five steals in the loss for Dillard, who slipped to 8-6 on the season.
The only other player in double digits for the Bleu Devils was Naomi Greene, who shot 4-8 from the field and 2-6 from behind the three point line.
Christy Pantallion (Alexandria, La./Bolton High), who led the Lady Cats at the half with seven points, finished with 11 and five steals, as Louisiana College improved to 12-2 with this non-conference road win.
