The first season of the Quannas White era for the Ragin’ Cajuns has not been an exceptional one so far. The Cajuns started the season with many losses, including a 10-game losing streak following the team’s first win against Southeastern Louisiana.
Now, though, it seems that White and the Cajuns have started getting things together, they have won four of their last five games including an absolute nail-biter against JMU.
This run of good play started with a 59–56 win at South Alabama on Jan. 17. The Cajuns played excellent defense, racking up six steals and recording eight blocks as a team.
From Mobile they traveled to Boone, North Carolina to take on Appalachian State. This game did not go as well for Louisiana who were beat down 72–58. Despite the bad loss, the Cajuns did not let it affect them.
They returned back to Lafayette for a two-game home stretch against the Georgia Sun Belt teams: Georgia State and Georgia Southern.
The first game against Georgia State showed off the offensive power the Cajuns were capable of with an 82–72 win. The team could not do wrong shooting, as they shot 50% from both the field and the 3-point line. They even dominated in the rebound department, an area the Cajuns have historically struggled in.
They followed up this win with another over Georgia Southern, outscoring the Eagles 40–31 in the second half.
Louisiana would turn this winning run into a little streak with a third straight win, beating James Madison University 64–61. Dorian Finister would seal the win for the Cajuns, draining a 3-pointer with one second left on the clock.
This run of play is attributed to three players who have raised their level of play along with the rest of the team.
The first is Finister, who sank the game winner against JMU. Finister is currently leading the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points. Over the past five games he has been hot, averaging 15.2 points.
Finister has not let himself be a liability on defense either, locking up opponents and logging eight steals over the past five games. His ability to get rebounds has also been a great help to the team, averaging 4.2 rebounds in the past five games.
The second player aiding this hot streak is sophomore guard De’Vion Lavergne. Lavergne has been a scoring machine over the past five games, including a 23-point game against Georgia State. He has been averaging 15.8 over the past five games. His specialty has been the three, hitting 36% of his shots from deep.
His biggest contribution to the team has been his ability to run the offense, being the playmaker the entire team runs through. He has recorded 22 assists, an average of 4.4 per game.
The final player that has been contributing to the hot streak is not a starter, but has been an MVP off the bench. Senior forward Dariyus Woodson has provided much needed size and defense to the team, being an anchor to the team.
Woodson has played exceptionally the past two games against Georgia Southern and JMU. He’s averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in these two games. He has proven to be valuable as a shooting big, hitting 62.5% of his 3-pointers over the past five games.
The Cajuns added to their streak as they hosted the Central Michigan Chippewas for the SBC–Mac Challenge. Louisiana won the game 85–80, continuing to show off their improved offense which included a 47-point second half.
This game saw six players score double digit points, the first time that has happened this season. Lavergne led the way with 19 points, proving to be a threat to score from any part of the court. He had plenty of help from the rest of the team, like Finister with his 10 points and eight assists.
The Cajuns once again won the rebound battle as well, totaling 29 to Central Michigan’s 21. That effort was led by Todd Jones Jr. who recorded seven rebounds along with 15 points and Jaxon Olvera with six rebounds and 11 points.
Woodson was once again the leading scorer off the bench and a massive help to the team’s efforts, scoring 14 points after hitting four 3-pointers and draining two free throws.
Louisiana is now 9–16 and rolling on a four game winning streak heading into their Thursday night game hosting the 15–11 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.