LAFAYETTE, La. – The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team won its fourth straight contest over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, as the Chanticleers picked up their first Sun Belt Conference victory of the season with a 68-57 win in Lafayette, La. With the win, Coastal improved to 6-7 overall and 1-1 in conference action, while Louisiana fell to 7-7 on the year and 1-1 in SBC play with the loss.
 
CCU was led by Deaja Richardson with a season-high 22 points, while Aja Blount and Anaya Barney totaled 14 and 12 points, respectively. The Chanticleers finished 22-of-41 from the field for a 53.7 shooting percentage, including shooting 44.4 percent from behind the three-point range on 8-of-18 from behind the arc.
 
Defensively, the Chants held the Ragin' Cajuns to 34.9 percent on 20-of-59 from the field and grabbed 27 defensive rebounds to the 13 defensive boards by the home team. As a team, Coastal won the rebounding battle 34-28. Blount just missed a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds, while Miriam Recarte chipped in with six boards.
 
Louisiana was led by Sherry Porter, who recorded a team-high 20 points, while Tamera Johnson added 16 points for the Ragin' Cajuns. Caira Wren snagged six rebounds to lead the home team.
 
Coastal claimed the first quarter lead and never relinquished it, as back-to-back layups by Blount put the visitors in front 4-0. The Ragin' Cajuns sandwiched a CCU layup by Recarte to cut the deficit to two only to see the Chants' Richardson knock down a long range jumper from the top of the key to increase the lead to 9-4 for the Chanticleers.
 
The Chants' Blount hit 3-of-4 from the free throw line to give Coastal Carolina a 12-4 advantage with three minutes left to play in the first period. CCU extended its lead to 11 points at 15-4, as Helena Delaruelle found the bottom of the net from long range for three. Louisiana closed the opening-quarter scoring with a 5-0 burst over the final minute.
 
Coastal opened the second period action with its own 5-0 surge as Blount and Barney hit back-to-back baskets to take a 20-9 advantage. The two teams traded the next nine points with CCU holding on to the 24-14 advantage before the Ragin' Cajuns fought back to cut the lead to six at 25-19 with a 5-1 run.
 
Following a Coastal basket, Louisiana cut the visitors from Conway, S.C., advantage to three points at 27-24 with a second 5-0 burst. The Chanticleers answered with a 5-0 surge of their own on a three-point jumper by Barney and a layup by Richardson to extend their lead to 32-24 at the intermission.
 
The homestanding Ragin' Cajuns opened the third quarter action with an 8-2 run to cut the Coastal lead to 34-32 and forced the Chants to call the early timeout with just eight minutes left in the period. Out of the break, CCU's Arin Freeman and Barney sandwiched a Louisiana layup to push the Chanticleers' advantage to 39-34.
 
After the two teams traded the next 12 points, the Chants' Barney knocked down a three-pointer to increase the lead to 48-40. Both teams finished the third-quarter scoring at the free throw line as they both made 1-of-2 for the 49-41 CCU advantage.
 
With 10 minutes left to play in regulation, the Ragin' Cajuns battled back to within four at 53-49 as Destiny Rice made a layup to cap an 8-4 run. Coastal extended its lead to 56-49 as Recarte hit a three-point jump shot to spark a 6-1 surge, which was topped off by a free throw and layup by Richardson.
 
After watching the home team go 1-of-6 from the free throw line, Coastal's Richardson found Arielle-Vadrelle Belinga wide open under the basket to give the Chants a 61-51 advantage with 2:27 remaining in the contest. CCU answered a pair of UL free throws with a Richardson layup for the 63-53 lead.
 
However, the Ragin' Cajuns answered with four quick points to cut the visiting team's lead to 63-57 only to see the Chanticleers finish the scoring from the free throw line by going 4-of-5 for the final margin of 68-57.
 
Coastal Carolina will return to Conway, S.C., as the Chanticleers will host Georgia Southern on Thursday, Jan. 5, and ULM on Saturday, Jan. 7, at the HTC Center. The opening tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Thursday and 2 p.m. ET on Saturday.
 
For complete coverage of CCU women's basketball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalWBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.