LAFAYETTE — Jaylyn Gordon and her University of Louisiana Lafayette teammates didn’t think they had any games left to play after losing their final Sun Belt Conference game of the season; while the Ragin’ Cajuns posted a strong 19-12 overall record, a 10-10 mark in Sun Belt play left them in the middle of the 11-team pack.

But when the players got some good news from their coaches — that the team had qualified for the Women’s Basketball Invitational tournament — Gordon said they vowed to make good on the opportunity.

“We were crying our eyes out because we thought the season was over,” said Gordon, a former West St. John basketball star. “Coach texted us to tell us we made it, and then we just said, ‘Well, hey, no more losses. We’ve got to go get it.’”

They got it. ULL won four straight games to capture the WBI championship, including a one-point semifinal win over Oral Roberts and a two-point win over Siena in the championship game.

“It was really exciting,” Gordon said. “I’d never won a championship before. Sometimes during the season, we’d start slow and then turn it up as the game went on, but in the tournament we came out like that from the tip-off and it made a difference.”

The most decorated player in the history of the West St. John Lady Rams program, it didn’t take long for Gordon to establish herself as a cornerstone of the Cajuns’ program.  After starting seven games and playing in 30 as a freshman, she broke out in 2014-15, her sophomore season, starting 31 of 34 games. She averaged 13.4 points — the second highest mark on the team — 3.6 rebounds and 2 steals per game. She was also by far the Cajuns’ top 3-point shooter, her 73 makes equaling more than the next two top shooters combined (61 makes total).

“They told me I had the green light to shoot when I first got here,” Gordon said. “Coach is probably harder on me than anyone. He’ll tell me, ‘I think I believe in you more than you believe in yourself.’ They told me to be aggressive and I liked that.”

Louisiana-Lafayette women’s basketball coach Garry Brodhead said Gordon has answered his challenges head on.

“Jaylyn has been one of the most fun players that I have coached in my career,” Brodhead said. “She brings a great attitude to practice and is very coachable. She has gotten better as a defender since coming to UL and she brings an added feature to our offense and at the third guard position. She stepped up when Silk (Sylvana Okde) went down for the season with an injury and she made a difference in our program.”

Brodhead’s allusion to defense was something echoed by Gordon. When asked what the biggest adjustment for her at the collegiate level was, she readily responded.

“Defense, defense, defense,” Gordon said. “That’s been my biggest struggle. You could score 100 points a game, but if you can’t defend, you won’t play. It’s a lot more (detailed) in college. You have to be in this spot, that spot at the right time or you’re in some trouble.”

Gordon, along with Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge, is part of a dangerous three-guard lineup reminiscent of the West St. John teams she played on, where she teamed with Maya Trench and JaJuan Nicholas to create often-impossible mismatches for the competition.

“It was the same for me coming up in AAU too,” Gordon said of playing in talented three-guard sets. “They make me better. I’m used to playing with two other guards who can really play (in the starting lineup) and it opens so much up.”

While at West St. John, Gordon was a multi-time All-State player and All-Parish MVP, starting for five years for the school. She helped lead WSJ to its only two appearances at the girls Top 28 tournament (the semifinals and final of the state tournament) and was a focal point of a Lady Rams team that won 48 of its final 50 games. She became the first WSJ girls basketball player to sign with a Division I school when she signed with ULL.

She’s making the most of that opportunity — and she only plans on getting better from here.

“I know I’m not the most consistent player right now,” she said. “I realize it. That’s something I’m working hard on to improve.”