UL Closes Out Regular Season at La.-Monroe

Date: Saturday, February 26, 2011
Location: Monroe, La.
Opponent: La.-Monroe Warhawks (14-14, 8-7 Sun Belt)
Site: Fant-Ewing Coliseum (7,000)
Game Time: 4:00 pm
Live Stats/Video: RaginCajuns.com

Game Day Story Lines

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns (11-17, 4-11 Sun Belt) conclude the regular season at La.-Monroe for the first time since March 6, 1984.
The Warhawks hold a 2-0 advantage over the Cajuns in season finales, but Saturday's contest is the first finale meeting between the two programs as members of the Sun Belt Conference.
UL dropped an 82-39 decision to Denver on Thursday evening. Mercedes Johnson led the Cajuns with 12 points, while Jasmine Barnes collected 11 points.
Johnson leads the Cajuns with 14.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Barnes follows with 10.01points per game, while shooting a team-best 54 percent (117x218).
Seniors Jasmine Barnes, Lyndra Bell and D'Mya Clay will play in their final regular season contest on Saturday. The trifecta has totaled 6,618 minutes for 344 combined games.

All-Time Series with La.-Monroe: The Warhawks lead the series, 35-6
Last Meeting: La.-Monroe 76, UL 65 • Earl K. Long Gym • Lafayette, La. • Jan. 22, 2011

La.-Monroe (14-14, 8-7 Sun Belt) and the Cajuns are meeting for the 42nd time on Saturday. The Warhawks have won six out of the last seven games, including a 76-65 win over UL at Earl K. Long Gym on Jan. 22.
UL has only defeated the Warhawks once in Monroe. The lone victory in Monroe was a 43-32 victory for the Cajuns on Feb. 4, 1972.

Scouting the Warhawks

La.-Monroe (14-14, 8-7 Sun Belt) has lost four out of their last six contests. The Warhawks clinched a 50-47 victory over North Texas on Saturday, Feb. 19.
The Warhawks are averaging 63.4 points per game, while opponents are averaging 61.2 points per game. La.-Monroe is shooting 38.8 percent (668x1720) from the field as their opponents are a slight notch higher at 39.1 percent (605x1547).
Two La.-Monroe players are posting double figures. Larrie Williams leads the way, scoring 11.1 points and reeling in 5.1 rebounds per game. Kassie Courtney is tallying 10.2 points per game with 5.1 rebounds per contest.

Notes and Trends

WHERE THEY RANK

Louisiana ranks sixth in the Sun Belt and 163rd nationally in scoring offense, averaging 63.6 points per game in 28 contests this year. The squad is fifth in the league and 115th in the nation in field goal percentage at 40.8 (668x1720).
Mercedes Johnson ranks sixth in the Sun Belt, averaging 14.5 points per game.
Senior Jasmine Barnes ranks fifth in the league in field goal percentage, connecting on 53.7 percent of her shots (117x218).
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.
UL ranks third in the Sun Belt and 78^th nationally with +2.18 turnover margin. The Cajuns are only committing 17.4 turnovers per contest, while opponents are turning the ball over 19.6 times in 28 contests this season.
UL's last regular season finale victory was a 66-44 win over Denver on March 4, 2008.
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 (1,044) and sixth in field goals made (443). She ranks second in free throw attempts (458) and is second all-time in free throw makes (272). Her average of 13.8 points per game currently ranks 10th in UL history.
The Houston native is 23 points away from moving into fifth all-time. In 85 games, Johnson has totaled 1,169 career points.
The junior is averaging a team-high 14.5 points per game, pulling in 6.3 rebounds.
Johnson has tallied double-digits in 20 of 26 contests played this season.

'Jas'-Ing It Up

In her last five games, Jasmine Barnes is averaging 13.8 points per game with 3.6 rebounds per contest. The Baton Rouge product has inked four-double figures contests during that span and is shooting a team-best 57 percent (28x49).
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 53.7 percent from the floor (117x218).
Barnes currently ranks seventh all-time in Cajuns history with a 45.9 field goal percentage (382x832). Barnes currently ranks seventh in field goal percent in a season (53.7, 117x218). She is currently tied for eighth with 87 career starts.

NATURALLY HOT SPRINGS

The Ragin' Cajuns are locked into the Sun Belt West five seed and will face Sun Belt East four seed South Alabama. The Cajuns and Jaguars will meet for the third time in four years in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Last season, the Jaguars defeated the Cajuns 82-76.
The game is currently scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. tip at the Convention Center in Hot Springs, Ark. Official brackets and times will be released by the Sun Belt Conference on Sunday, Feb. 27.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

UL Closes Out Regular Season at La.-Monroe

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