Louisiana Hosts Denver on Senior Day

Date: Thursday, February 24, 2011
Location: Lafayette, La.
Opponent: Denver Pioneers (17-10, 9-5 Sun Belt)
Site: Cajundome (11,550)
Game Time: 5:00 pm
Live Stats/Video: RaginCajuns.com
Radio: Steve Peloquin - Play-by-Play, Sports Radio ESPN 1420 AM

Game Day Story Lines

Louisiana's Ragin Cajuns (11-16, 4-10 Sun Belt) close out the 2010-11 regular season home schedule with Denver inside the Cajundome on Thursday evening. UL is 2-0 in the Cajun dome this season.
UL fell in a 69-49 decision to Western Kentucky on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Earl K. Long Gym. Senior Jasmine Barnes led UL with a team-best 14 points.
Louisiana will honor its three seniors before the contest on Thursday. Jasmine Barnes, Lyndra Bell and D'Mya Clay will be recognized for their accomplishments. Between the three players, they have played in a combined 341 games, totaling 1,746 points.
Mercedes Johnson leads the Cajuns with 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Barnes follows with 10.0 points per game, while shooting a team-best 54 percent (112x207).

All-Time Series with Denver: The Pioneers lead the series, 16-7
Last Meeting: DU 70, UL 58 • Magness Arena • Denver, Colo. • 12/29/10

Denver (17-10, 9-5 Sun Belt) and the Ragin' Cajuns are meeting for the 24th time on Thursday. Louisiana dropped a 70-58 decision to the Pioneers on Dec. 29, 2010.
DU has won the last five contests dating back to Jan. 3, 2009.
UL last defeated the Pioneers, 66-44, at the Cajundome on March 1, 2008.

Scouting the Pioneers

Denver (17-10, 9-5 Sun Belt) has won their last four games since defeating FAU on Feb. 9. On Sunday, Feb. 20th, the Pioneers disposed of South Alabama, 63-43, at Magness Arena.
Through 27 games played, the Pioneers are averaging 64.4 points per game, ranking fourth in the Sun Belt. Denver leads the SBC with a 46 field goal percentage (634x186), holding opponents 38 percent (575x1501) from the floor. Opponents are out-rebounding DU 34.4-to-33.6 rebounds per game.
Three Pioneers are posting double-digit marks including Katelyn Murdoch with a team-leading 16.6 points per game and 7.2 rebounds each contest.
Brianna Culberson is posting 14.3 ppg with 6.6 rpg, while Britteni Rice is tallying 13.6 ppg.

Notes and Trends

WHERE THEY RANK

Louisiana ranks third in the Sun Belt and 145th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 64.5 points per game in 27 contests this year.
The squad is fourth in the league and 94th in the nation in field goal percentage at 41.4 (659x1593).
The Cajuns are third in the Sun Belt and 75th in the nation with a 2.26 turnover margin. UL is only committing 17.5 turnovers per contest, while opponents are turning the ball over 19.7 times in 27 contests this season.
Mercedes Johnson ranks sixth in the Sun Belt, averaging 14.6 points per game.
Senior Jasmine Barnes ranks fifth in the league in field goal percentage, connecting on 54.1 percent of her shots (112x207).
Kemi Rotibi ranks third in the SBC with 32 total blocks, averaging 1.2 blocks per game.

QUICK HITTERS

UL's victory at FAU, tied UL's most wins in conference action since the 2006-2007 campaign. The road win against the Owls also marked the first time in Coach Errol Rogers' tenure that the Cajuns have secured two Sun Belt victories on the road during the season.
Louisiana is 8-2 when scoring 70-plus points this season. UL is also 9-3 when shooting 40 percent or better against their opponents.
Lafayette native Lyndra Bell is averaging 8.2 points in her last five games. During that span, the senior is shooting 49 percent (18x37), while pulling in 4.2 rebounds per game. Bell has dished out 11 assists for an average of 2.2 per contest.
Kemi Rotibi's 32 blocks is just two shy of reaching UL's top-10 single-season blocked shots list. Veronica Brisco currently sits 10th with 34 blocked shots set during the 1980-1981 season.

Johnson Among the Best

Mercedes Johnson has reached UL's top-10 in five categories. The junior is fifth in field goal attempts (1,030) and sixth in field goals made (439). She ranks second in free throw attempts (454) and is second all-time in free throw makes (269). Her average of 13.8 points per game currently ranks 10th in UL history.
The Houston native is 35 points away from moving into fifth all-time. In 84 games, Johnson has totaled 1,157 career points.
The junior is averaging a team-high 14.6 points per game, pulling in 6.4 rebounds.
Johnson has tallied double-digits in 19 of 25 contests played this season.

'Jas'-Ing It Up

In her last five games, Jasmine Barnes is averaging 12.0 points per game with 3.2 rebounds per contest. The Baton Rouge product has inked three-double figures contests during that span and is shooting a team-best 57 percent (24x42).
Barnes recorded a career-high 29 points in UL's victory at Florida Atlantic (Feb. 12). She was 10-of-11 from the floor, while 8-of-9 at the charity stripe.
She is shooting a team-high 54.1 percent from the floor (112x207).
Barnes currently ranks seventh all-time in Cajuns history with a 45.9 field goal percentage (377x821). Barnes currently ranks seventh in field goal percent in a season (54.1, 112x207). She currently sits ninth with 86 career starts.

RECOGNIZING THE SENIORS

All three UL seniors of Jasmine Barnes, D'Mya Clay and Lyndra Bell rank in UL's all-time top-10 list for games played.
Clay is tied for third with 116 games played, Barnes ranks sixth with 113 games and Bell is seventh with 112 games played.
The trifecta of seniors have combined to play in 341 games, totaling 6,534 minutes played in their four-year careers.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

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