Rematch With Red Wolves Set for Saturday at Cajundome

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes

GAME CENTER
Date: Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013
Location: Lafayette, La.
Opponent: Arkansas State (7-9, 4-3 Sun Belt)
Site: Cajundome (11,550)
Game Time: 5:00 p.m. (CST)
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com
Radio: Sports Radio ESPN 1420-AM (Ian Auzenne)

LOUISIANA-ARKANSAS STATE SERIES
The Series: ASU leads 44-12
In Lafayette: ASU leads 21-6
In Cajundome: ASU leads 8-2
Series Streak: ASU – won 10
Last Meeting: Arkansas State 77, Louisiana 53 (Jonesboro, Ark. // Dec. 22, 2012)
Noteworthy: The two programs have been conference foes since series started (Southland 1983-87, American South 1987-91, Sun Belt 1991-present).

LOUISIANA
12-13 Record____________________ 7-9
12-13 Sun Belt Record_____________ 1-6
Last Game______________________      Jan. 9, 2013
vs. South Alabama L, 43-53
Head Coach____________________ Garry Brodhead
   UL Record____________________ 7-9 (1^st Season)
   Career Record_________________ Same
   Brodhead vs. ASU______________ 0-1
Web Site_______________________     www.RaginCajuns.com

ARKANSAS STATE
12-13 Record____________________     7-9
12-13 Sun Belt Record_____________ 4-3
Last Game______________________     Jan. 9, 2013
vs. FIU W, 49-43
Head Coach____________________       Brian Boyer
   ASU Record___________________ 218-194 (14^thSeason)
   Career Record_________________      Same
   Boyer vs. UL___________________      18-4
Web Site_______________________     www.AStateRedWolves.com

Game Night Story Lines
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team is set for a rematch with Arkansas State on Saturday, Jan. 12 at the Cajundome. ASU is the first Sun Belt opponent UL faces for a second time this season in the league's new double round-robin format.
>>> ASU posted a 77-53 triumph in the season's first meeting on Dec. 22 in Jonesboro. The Red Wolves shot a season-best 59.6 percent (31-of-52).
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns look for continued success at the Cajundome. Louisiana defeated two-time Sun Belt champion UALR 56-54 in double overtime in their first appearance of the Garry Brodhead era in the facility back on Dec. 29.
>>> Louisiana is 5-3 at home in Garry Brodhead's inaugural season (4-3 Earl K. Long Gym/1-0 Cajundome).
>>> The Cajuns have held seven of eight opponents below 60 points in home contests. The Cajuns have held opponents to 37 percent shooting and forced 24.1 turnovers per game on their home floor.
>>> In the last meeting against the Sun Belt's top three-point field goal percentage defense, the Cajuns connected on 46.7 percent vs. South Alabama (7-of-15). Arkansas State enters Saturday's game tops in the SBC, holding opponents to 22.8 percent.
>>> Freshman Sylvana Okde ranks Top 20 in the Sun Belt in scoring (11.4 ppg) and leads the league averaging 2.6 three-point makes per outing. Okde buried seven treys in the triumph at Tulane (12/19) and has made at least three in a game seven times.
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns rank second in the Sun Belt and 33rd nationally in steals.
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns are 6-1 when holding opponents below 40 percent shooting. Held UALR to a season-low 31.7 percent (20-of-63) in last Cajundome outing.
>>> At the halfway point of the season, the Ragin' Cajuns have already equaled their win total from last season (7-23).

LAST TIME OUT: South Alabama 53, Louisiana 43 at Earl K. Long Gym (Lafayette, La.)
The Ragin' Cajuns shot nearly 50 percent from three-point range against the Sun Belt's top three-point percentage defense, but South Alabama's ability to reach the free throw line was the difference as the visitors topped Louisiana 53-43 at Earl K. Long Gym.
Louisiana finished 46.7 percent from three-point range (7-of-15) against a Jaguars squad that came in holding opponents to 21 percent from beyond the arc.
South Alabama (10-6, 3-4 Sun Belt) attempted 25 free throws, compared to just nine for the Cajuns, and held a 12-4 advantage in makes.
The Jaguars were able to match the Cajuns from beyond the arc, knocking down seven triples with four coming from Mansa El. That offset UL's production in a contest that saw a similar stat line for both squads.
USA used a 15-0 run in the middle stages of the second half to fend off UL. The run came moments after Louisiana rolled of 10 unanswered to grab a 34-30 lead with 14:07 remaining.
USA led 45-34 after a Mary Nixon basket at 8:00, but the Cajuns battled back to create a two-possession game by the 5:38 mark. Sylvana Okde landed a trey at 7:38, then after a pair of defensive stops Louisiana drew within six points (45-39) following a Keke Veal layup.
After swapped baskets the USA edge was 47-41 as the clock dipped below five minutes. Three straight empty possessions by the Cajuns later and the clock became the squad's enemy.
Two Ronneka Robertson free throws with 3:15 left, USA's ninth and 10th makes of the night, upped the advantage to eight points. Louisiana would go the rest of the way without a field goal make and an El jumper at 1:29 gave USA a 51-42 lead.
USA held a slim 17-16 edge in field goals made, three-pointers were even (7-7) and both teams shot below 40 percent.

SERIES HISTORY (ASU leads 44-12, overall; ASU leads 21-6 in Lafayette; ASU leads 8-2 at Cajundome)
>>> The first meeting between the two schools took place on Jan. 24, 1983. The Ragin' Cajuns were victorious in the contest, 85-66 in Jonesboro.
>>> Louisiana won the first four series meetings and held an 8-6 advantage over ASU following the 1989-90 season.
>>> Since 1990-91 season, the Red Wolves have had the decided edge in the series having won 38 of the last 42 contests.
>>> J. Kelley Hall was the last Cajuns coach to defeat ASU, posting a 62-59 win in the semifinal round of the 2007 Sun Belt Tournament in Lafayette at the Cajundome.
>>> Saturday's contest marks the 11th meeting at the Cajundome (ASU 8-2 in facility).
>>> Two programs have been conference foes since series started (Southland 1983-87, American South 1987-91, Sun Belt 1991-present).

NOTING ARKANSAS STATE
>>> ASU has won five out of its last seven games and is tied for second in the SBC?West division with UALR with a conference record of 4-3. After starting the season 0-5, the Red Wolves have gone 7-4 since.
>>> The Red Wolves rank 13th in the nation 3-point field goal percentage defense.
>>> Brian Boyer is the only coach in ASU history (men's or women's) to win 200 games and is the school's all-time winningest basketball coach.
>>> Jane Morrill ranks 58th in the naion with a 50.6 ?eld percentage on the year. Morrill has led ASU in scoring 10 times this season. She has been the leading scorer in four of A-State's seven wins.
>>> The ASU bench has scored in double-digits in each of the Red Wolves 16 games this season.

LAST TIME VS. ARKANSAS STATE (Dec. 22 in Jonesboro, Ark.)
>>> ASU limited Sylvana Okde to two field goal attempts and held UL to 31 percent shooting as the Red Wolves captured a 77-53 win Dec. 22 at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
>>> Arkansas State shot 64 percent in the second half to break open a nine-point contest. Louisiana was limited to 28 percent in the second half as its 35-26 halftime deficit grew as large as 27 points.
>>> Sylvana Okde was held without a three-point attempt and was to just two points in 28 minutes of action – well below her season average of 13.5 points per game.

LAST MEETING AT CAJUNDOME (Feb. 11, 2012 – ASU won 57-50)
>>> The Cajuns started a 16-5 run at the 11:57 mark of the second half to cut a double-digit deficit down to 52-50 following a Brooklyn Arceneaux basket with 3:57 remaining. The Cajuns couldn't get a shot to fall in the rest of the way and Jane Morrill made a basket at 3:46 and a triple at 2:29 to finish off the scoring.

THE BUILDING BLOCKS
>>> The freshman class of Sylvana Okde (11.4), Keke Veal (10.3), Kia Wilridge (9.4), Jasmin Mills (4.2) and Adrienne Prejean (1.6) – the foundation class on which Garry Brodhead plans to rebuild the program – averages 36.9 points per game (63 percent of the team's offensive production).

MISS CLUTCH
>>> Brandi Schambough's last-second triple to pull out the win at Tulane on Dec. 19 brought back memories of a similar finish back on Feb. 20 vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
>>> In the team's 2011-12 non-conference finale, Schambough buried a trey with eight ticks left to pull UL out of a 60-59 deficit and to a win that halted a 17-game losing skid.

SHE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE AGAIN
>>> It was only fitting that Brandi Schambough hit the winning shot in the second overtime with UALR, given the Nebraska-Omaha and Tulane heroics.
>>> Schambough's trey with 27 seconds left gave UL a 56-54 lead in a win that ended a 10-game losing streak to the rising SBC West power UALR.

NO HEIGHT, NO PROBLEM
>>> Despite having only one player listed above 6-foot on the roster, the Cajuns have an uncanny ability to rebound the basketball. UL has held its ground with the opposition, with a slim 39.6-38.6 deficit through the first 16 games (-1.0 rebounding margin).
>>> UL rebounds on both ends (276 offensive rebounds and 342 defensive rebounds).

SHE HAS THE TOUCH
>>> Freshman Sylvana Okde continues to impress with her abilities from three-point range, continuously hitting treys from 22-23 feet away and in clutch moments.
>>> Okde converted a season-high seven makes from beyond the arc, including one as time expired, to send the Tulane contest into overtime.
>>> The Houston native, whose parents hail from Lebanon, is shooting 39.6 percent from three-point range (42-of-106).

TURNING UP THE “D”
>>> Thus far this season, the Cajuns defense has forced the opposing teams into 21.4 turnovers per game while UL averages 17.9, giving the squad a +3.5 turnover margin.
>>> 326 of the 939 points scored have been points off turnovers (35 percent).

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE
>>> The freshman duo of Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge is the leading force behind the Ragin' Cajuns forcing the opposition into an average of 21.4 turnovers per game.
>>> Wilridge tops the squad with 43 steals, while Veal is a close second with 38 steals.

ALREADY PROVING THEM WRONG
>>> The preseason pollsters selected Louisiana last in the Sun Belt West. Only four games into the 2012-13 league schedule, the Cajuns registered a victory over SBC West favorite and two-time defending league champion UALR on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012.

SHOW STOPPER
>>> Louisiana's 65-64 overtime win at Tulane brought an end to the Green Wave's 15-game win streak over Louisiana schools. Ten (10) days earlier, Tulane had defeated SEC-foe LSU 66-64 in Baton Rouge

HOMEGROWN TALENT
>>> Cajuns roster features eight players who hail from the state of Louisiana.
>>> To go a step further, six athletes prepped in the greater Lafayette area (Brandi Schambough – St. Thomas More; Brooklyn Arceneaux – St. Thomas More; Robbie Brown – St. Thomas More; Kia Wilridge – St. Thomas More; Adrienne Prejean – Lafayette HS; Keke Veal – St. Thomas More).

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD
>>> For the first time since the 2010-11 academic year, sophomores Brooklyn Arceneaux and Robbie Brown and freshmen Kia Wilridge and Keke Veal are teammates.
>>> The quartet powered local St. Thomas More High to a state championship in 2011.
>>> Last season, Wilridge and Veal carried on the championship caliber effort, winning another state title in 2012.

RETURNING HOME
>>> Three of the Cajuns four coaches are alums of the University of Louisiana, head coach Garry Brodhead (1980), Sallie Guillory (2005), and Deacon Jones (1999).
>>> For Brodhead, it represents a return to the city where many of his coaching successes occurred, including his stint at Teurlings Catholic High School where he posted a 297-78 record from 1998-2007.

REUNITED, PART 2
>>> Not only were teammates reunited this season, but members of the coaching staff were as well – Jennifer Sullivan rejoining Garry Brodhead and Sallie Guillory.
>>> The trio were assistant coaches at McNeese State during the 2008-09 campaign. Brodhead and Guillory remained at McNeese through 2011-12, while Sullivan spent 2009-10 through 2011-12 at Arkansas State.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD
>>> Garry Brodhead became the 12th head coach in UL program history on April 2, 2012. The 1980 UL graduate is a 16-year veteran of women's basketball coaching.
>>> Brodhead replaced Errol Rogers who compiled a 38-113 record over five seasons (2007-08 through 2011-12).

THE LONE RANGER
>>> Reserve guard Brandi Schambough is the lone senior on Garry Brodhead's inaugural squad in Cajun Country.
>>> She's also the most experienced in terms of years in a collegiate uniform having played each of the previous three seasons.

DOUBLE THE PLEASURE FOR RAGIN' CAJUNS FANS
>>> There will be five home doubleheaders in the Cajundome this year featuring the Ragin' Cajuns men's and women's basketball teams.
>>> The first doubleheader comes on Dec. 29 when Louisiana hosts UALR. Arkansas State is the guest on Jan. 12 and UL plays UL-Monroe (Feb. 10), Florida Atlantic (Feb. 16) and Western Kentucky (Feb. 23) on successive weekends in February.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns venture to Kentucky and Tennessee for a pair of Sun Belt Conference road games next week.
>>> Louisiana visits Bowling Green, Ky., on Wednesday, Jan. 16 for a 7 p.m. meeting with Western Kentucky at E.A. Diddle Arena. The brief road trip closes out on Saturday, Jan. 19 in Murfreesboro, Tenn., against Middle Tennessee scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. inside the Murphy Center.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Rematch With Red Wolves Set for Saturday at Cajundome

Next Event

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics