Louisiana

Tulane faces SE Louisiana, looks to stop 3-game skid

Published

2 hours ago

December 2, 2024

Press Room

Tulane faces SE Louisiana, looks to stop 3-game skid

Associated Press

SE Louisiana Lions (3-4) at Tulane Green Wave (4-4)

New Orleans; Monday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Green Wave -7.5; over/under is 141

BOTTOM LINE: Tulane will try to end its three-game losing streak when the Green Wave play SE Louisiana.

The Green Wave have gone 4-1 at home. Tulane averages 11.0 turnovers per game and is 2-2 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents.

The Lions are 1-3 on the road. SE Louisiana ranks seventh in the Southland with 32.0 rebounds per game led by Sam Hines Jr. averaging 7.1.

Tulane scores 74.4 points, 6.0 more per game than the 68.4 SE Louisiana gives up. SE Louisiana averages 7.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.3 fewer made shots on average than the 8.3 per game Tulane gives up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kaleb Banks is shooting 48.6% and averaging 16.7 points for the Green Wave.

Hines is averaging 14.3 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Lions.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Louisiana

Letter from the AD: Louisiana Tech's Cumbie to return in 2025 – Crescent City Sports

Published

14 hours ago

December 1, 2024

Press Room

Letter from the AD: Louisiana Tech's Cumbie to return in 2025 – Crescent City Sports

Sonny Cumbie

Dear Bulldog Nation,

Thank you for your continued support, passion, and loyalty for Bulldog football. Louisiana Tech’s storied football legacy is one that has cultivated a passionate fanbase who shows unwavering support.

The end of a season is a time of reflection and assessment. After careful consideration, we are looking forward to Sonny Cumbie‘s return as our head football coach for the 2025 season. Our Bulldogs made progress during the season, our defense ranks in the top 3 in the conference in every major defensive statistical category and top 15 nationally in total defense, eight games were determined by a single score, and we saw a group of student-athletes who never quit and showed us the meaning of grit, resiliency and perseverance.

In a pre-season interview I shared that the evaluation of our football program goes beyond wins and losses but is a holistic approach grounded in data, fiduciary responsibility, academic progress, and long-term sustainability. With the ever-changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics, it is important that we remain disciplined and focused in our approach.

This approach demands the review of several programmatic operations within. In the coming weeks and months, we will focus on:

our offensive schematic and tactical approach;
· restructuring football personnel to maximize our ability to develop and grow student-athletes;
· off-season workouts grounded in competition, attention to detail, and discipline;
· reimagining roster management, focused on the ability to recruit and retain top talent; and
· strategic assessment of expenses to invest more in player acquisition and compensation.

This approach will improve on-field results for the 2025 season. I am confident that Sonny will meet these challenges head-on and we will be there to support all changes necessary to achieve the only acceptable on-field result.

As the college athletics enterprise evolves at a rapid pace, we remain committed to embracing innovation and a decision-making strategy that ensures success. The goal for our football program is, and always will be, post-season competitiveness. We will not lower that standard and I promise we will return to that expectation.

As we close this 2024 season and begin to write the 2025 chapter, I am calling upon our Bulldog nation to continue to support this football program however possible. We need every one of our Loyal Blue supporters now more than ever. Together, I am confident that we will begin the next successful run of Bulldog football.

All the best and Go Dogs!

Ryan Ivey

VP/Director of Athletics

Louisiana Tech University

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Louisiana

Why have so many Louisiana teens started vaping? This expert says: Ask them.

Published

1 day ago

December 1, 2024

Press Room

Why have so many Louisiana teens started vaping? This expert says: Ask them.

Louisiana has one of the highest rates of teen vaping in the country.

In 2023, 30% of high school students in Louisiana reported using e-cigarettes in the past month, compared with 17% of high schoolers nationwide, according to state and federal surveys.

Louisiana schools have struggled to deter students from vaping, which some do in bathrooms and hallways.

Young people who vape face health risks and are more likely to start smoking cigarettes. Yet many teens view vaping as safer than smoking and are drawn to e-cigarettes for their flavors, said Mattie Hawkins, a regional manager at the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, or TFL, which promotes tobacco-control policies.

Hawkins spends her time talking to teens about tobacco and its negative impact on the brain and body. Last month, TFL hosted the “Rise Above Vaping Symposium” at Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge, where students were given a safe space to share their experiences with e-cigarettes.

Humana addiction services manager Jeny Rodrigue hands a fast food gift card to student Jam Jordan after he answered a question correctly about the dangers of vaping at Istrouma High School during the Vaping Town Hall on Thursday, October 24, 2024.

Javier Gallegos

“Just being around other students, they were able to have honest and open dialogue,” Hawkins said.

The conversations with students have helped Hawkins and her team better understand what draws teens to vaping — and what might convince them to stop.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What do you hear from young people about why they started vaping?

Some of the main reasons students may start vaping are, of course, curiosity. They may have family and friends who vape, so they could deal with peer pressure or they may just see them and also want to do it.

Our youth also struggle with stress and many different mental health issues, so that’s a reason, too. They may be attracted to the different flavors of vapes, or they might think it looks cool.

Why has vaping become so much more popular with teens than smoking?

When e-cigarettes were created, they were marketed as being safer than cigarettes. But studies have shown that they’re actually not safer.

A pack of 20 cigarettes is equivalent (in nicotine content) to one JUUL pod.

What does vaping look like in school?

They are easy to sneak in. We’ve heard from principals that kids are just grabbing their parents’ (vapes) and they think it’s OK, they think it’s cool and don’t see it as being harmful.

You have some parents who may actually buy it for their students because they don’t see it as an issue. And then you have older students who are able to purchase vapes from local smoke shops who don’t pay attention to age requirements.

So those kids are able to get them into schools and pass them among each other. Some kids pick them up off the ground, too, which is nasty.

How do you talk to kids about quitting?

I have to let them know, “I’m not condemning you, I’m not judging you, but these are the facts. These are the statistics when it comes to vaping.”

I tell them about the health issues that may affect their body in the long run.

Can you go into more detail about the problems vapes can cause?

Recent studies have shown that vaping can lead to urinary and bladder cancer for youth.

Kids typically first try tobacco around 13 or 14 years old, and smoking can be detrimental to brain development. The human brain doesn’t stop developing until around 25, and tobacco stunts its growth, so kids often have issues with focusing and memory. They also tend to struggle with anxiety.

How can parents help their kids quit?

The first step in prevention when it comes to family is being open and having those conversations, explaining to youth the dangers of tobacco use.

Once again, not condemning them, but just having that open dialogue where they’re able to tell you something.

What can schools do to combat vaping?

With schools, we have a Live Vape Free tool kit, which is a comprehensive online tool kit for schools to take the lead in responding to the youth vaping epidemic. These kits guide schools in how to create a tobacco-free environment that prevents students from using products like e-cigarettes. It also supports students who need help quitting.

The tool kit encourages schools to lessen the punitive consequences for smoking. Students who are caught vaping face the possibility of being expelled, so the kit offers guides for coaching or hosting sessions to talk about why kids shouldn’t do this. It’s about positive reinforcement.

What was the idea behind the recent anti-vaping event your group hosted at Istrouma High School?

The Rise Above Vaping Symposium was actually a pilot event, so it was our first time hosting it.

We brought together middle school and high school students to educate and create awareness about the harmful effects of vaping.

They had the opportunity to share their personal experiences with vaping, and we had an open discussion where we wanted to understand the factors contributing to the vaping epidemic among youth and develop an actionable, peer-to-peer intervention strategy.

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Louisiana

Three-point shooting gives Minnesota an edge over Louisiana – Crescent City Sports

Published

2 days ago

November 30, 2024

Press Room

Three-point shooting gives Minnesota an edge over Louisiana – Crescent City Sports

Golden Gophers dial up key scores after Ragin’ Cajuns make push to start second half

WESTWEGO, La. – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Basketball team’s comeback bid was turned away by Minnesota’s three-point shooting which allowed the Golden Gophers to pull away for a 68-48 win on Saturday, November 30 in the Big Easy Classic at the Alario Center in Westwego, Louisiana.

Minnesota (9-0), which finished with a 10-0 advantage in three-point makes in the contest, made seven three-point baskets after Louisiana (3-3) sliced its deficit to 33-29 at the 7:51 mark of the third quarter.

After trailing by 14 points through one quarter of play the Ragin’ Cajuns received a spark from Nubia Benedith and Tamiah Robinson who combined for 12 points in the second quarter. Benedith hit a driving layup at the 2:04 mark capping off her personal seven-point contribution and moving UL within striking distance at 29-22.

The Ragin’ Cajuns attacked the basket early on in the third quarter, a combined three layups from Kamryn Jones and Jaylyn James in the first two-plus minutes dropping the Minnesota lead to four points. Jones scored on the break at 7:51 to make it 33-29 and prompt a Golden Gophers timeout.

Minnesota responded with a pair of triples in the next minute to extend the margin to 40-29 and the third triple of the frame had the Cajuns chasing at 45-29.

The Golden Gophers went back to the three-point well to lock up the victory, starting the fourth quarter with a three-point make on each of their first three possessions to advance the lead to 59-33 by the 8:41 mark.

Louisiana kept battling despite the fourth triple of the quarter upping Minnesota’s lead to 62-34. Robinson’s layup at 7:49 triggered a 10-0 run that was completed with a putback layup from Jones at 3:04 making it 62-44.

The Ragin’ Cajuns improved their shooting percentage to 33 percent (17-of-52) and limited Minnesota to 39 percent (26-of-66), but were outdistanced in the defeat by the Golden Gophers’ 30-point edge from beyond the arc. UL was unsuccessful on all seven of its three-point attempts.

Minnesota established the lead from the start, reeling off a 9-0 run in the game’s first three minutes. After Robinson’s second-chance layup at 5:35 cut UL’s deficit to 9-4, the Golden Gophers produced an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to move ahead comfortably at 17-4.

Jones paced UL’s scoring efforts with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting while Benedith and Robinson finished with nine points apiece sparked by their second quarter output.

Louisiana completed play in the Big Easy Classic with its second straight defeat after entering on a three-game win streak.

Saturday’s contest marked the first-ever matchup in program history between Louisiana and Minnesota.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana returns to the Cajundome on Saturday, December 7 to face Rice in a 2:00 p.m. contest.

The matchup with the Owls begins the final three-game stretch of non-conference games ahead of the December 29 Sun Belt opener at Georgia Southern.

Rice visits the city of Lafayette for the first time since December 1997 and makes its first-ever appearance in the Cajundome. The two programs last met in November 2021 in Houston, a 73-69 win for Louisiana.

Live television coverage is available on ESPN+, radio coverage on the Ragin’ Cajuns Radio Network and live stats available at CajunStats.com.

FOLLOW THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin’ Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsWBB), Facebook (/RaginCajunsWBB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsWBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Women’s Basketball.

Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

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