Cajuns Face Panthers Wednesday

Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Location: Miami, Fla.
Opponent: FIU Panthers (11-14, 6-5 Sun Belt)
Site: U.S. Century Bank Arena (5,000)
Game Time: 5:00 pm CT
Live Stats/Video: RaginCajuns.com
Radio: None

Game Day Story Lines

Louisiana (10-13, 3-7 Sun Belt) nearly pulled off an upset of Sun Belt West division leader UALR on Saturday, pulling within one point with 48 seconds remaining. The Trojans (16-5, 10-0 SBC) held on to a 57-52 win to remain undefeated in the SBC.
Mercedes Johnson notched her second double-double of the year with 17 points and 15 rebounds against the Trojans. Senior D'Mya Clay tallied her third consecutive double-digit game with 14 points.
The Ragin' Cajuns travels to Miami for the first time since 2008. The Ragin' Cajuns have lost their last three road contests, with their last road victory coming against North Texas in a 65-54 win at Denton on Jan. 1.
Johnson is averaging a team-best 15.2 points per game, while also leading the Cajuns with 6.6 rebounds per game. Senior Jasmine Barnes follows with 9.3 points per game, shooting 53 percent (89x169) from the floor.

All-Time Series with FIU: FIU leads the series, 13-6
Last Meeting: FIU 77, UL 51

Earl K. Long Gym Lafayette, La. 2/3/2010
FIU (11-14, 6-5 Sun Belt) and UL are meeting for the 20th time on Wednesday evening.
The Cajuns have dropped the last three games to the Panthers, including a 77-51 decision to FIU on Feb. 3, 2010 at Earl K. Long Gym.
Louisiana has not defeated the Panthers since a 67-49 victory at the Sun Belt Tournament on March 3, 2007.
UL last won at FIU, 75-52, on Feb. 22, 2007.

Scouting the Panthers

FIU (11-14, 6-5 Sun Belt) has won their last four games including a 62-59 upset of SBC East leader Middle Tennessee on Jan. 29. On Sunday, the Panthers defeated Florida Atlantic 60-53 in Boca Raton.
The Panthers are averaging 60.5 points per game, shooting 41 percent (558x1378) from the field. FIU is rebounding 34.9 times per game, while leading the league with 110 blocked shots.
Opponents are scoring 62.7 points per game, while shooting 40 percent (570x1421).
Three FIU players are averaging double-figures. Reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week Jerica Coley is averaging a team-high 15.9 points per game with 6.3 rebounds per contest. Rakia Rodgers is posting 13.7 ppg with 4.5 rpg.

Notes and Trends

WHERE THEY RANK

Louisiana ranks third in the Sun Belt and 131st nationally in scoring offense, averaging 65.7 points per game in 23 contests this year. The squad is fourth in the league and 88th in the nation in field goal percentage at 41.5 (574x1383).
Mercedes Johnson ranks sixth in the Sun Belt, averaging 15.2 points per game.
Senior Jasmine Barnes ranks fifth in the league in field goal percentage, connecting on 52.7 percent of her shots (89x169).
Kemi Rotibi ranks third in the SBC with 25 total blocks, averaging 1.1 blocks per game.

QUICK HITTERS

Louisiana's 10th victory, a 71-69 triumph over North Texas on Jan. 26, gave the Cajuns their most wins since the 2006-07 season. The 10th win also marked the most in a season during Coach Errol Rogers' tenure. UL is one win away from tying the most Sun Belt victories (four) during Coach Rogers' reign.
Nicole Morris has been essential to UL's offense by dishing out a team-leading 46 assists in 22 games this year. Morris is averaging 2.0 assists per game.
Lafayette native Lyndra Bell is averaging 9.0 points in her last five games. During that span, the senior is shooting 48 percent (20x42), while corralling 5.0 rebounds per game. Bell is the only Cajuns player to start in all 23 contests this season.

JOHNSON CLIMBING THE LADDER

Mercedes Johnson has reached UL's top-10 in five categories. The junior is seventh in field goal attempts (1,019) and field goals made (434). She ranks second in free throw attempts (444) and tied for second in free throw makes (264).
Johnson needs one more made free throw to pass Anne DeMahy's mark of 264 for sole possession of second place.
The Houston native's average of 13.9 points per game currently ranks 10^th in UL history.
Johnson's 26 point effort against La.-Monroe (Jan. 22) moved her into sixth place on UL's all-time scoring list. The Houston native is 50 points away from moving into fifth all-time. In 82 games, Johnson has totaled 1,142 career points.
The junior is averaging a team-high 15.2 points per game, pulling in 6.6 rebounds.
Johnson has tallied double-digits in 19 of 23 contests played this season.

BARNES MOVES INTO TOP-10

Jasmine Barnes is averaging 9.3 points per game and is tied for second on the team with 97 total rebounds for 4.2 rebounds per game through 23 contests.
She is shooting a team-high 52.7 percent from the floor (89x169).
Barnes currently ranks seventh all-time in Cajuns history with a 45.2 field goal percentage (354x783). Barnes is tied for 9th in games played (109) and ranks 10th with 82 career starts.

CLAY RISING TO THE OCCASION

Senior D'Mya Clay has averaged double-figures in three consecutive contests. Clay is averaging 12 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game in contests against North Texas, South Alabama and UALR.
During that span, Clay is shooting 42 percent (12x29) from the floor, while connecting on 5-of-7 3-pointers (71.4 percent).

-- Ragin' Cajuns--

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

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