Cajuns Welcome LSU-Shreveport to Earl K. Long Gym Monday

GAME CENTER

Game 2
LSU Shreveport (2-0) at Louisiana (1-0)
Date: Monday, Nov. 12, 2012
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: Earl K. Long Gym
Time: 7:00 p.m. CDT

SETTING THE SCENE: Louisiana opens the home portion of the 2012-13 season hosting LSU-Shreveport on Monday, Nov. 12 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Earl K. Long Gym. Under the direction of first-year head coach Garry Brodhead, the Cajuns are coming off a 71-69 victory against Southern to open the season. UL returns just four players from a year ago, opening the season with seven newcomers (five freshmen and two junior college transfers). LSU-Shreveport returns all five starters from last season's squad. For the first time in school history, the Lady Pilots were ranked in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 poll (19^th). The squad ended the 2011-12 season with a 25-9 overall record and a 21-3 record in the Red River Athletic Conference.

Louisiana Overview
12-13 Record__________________1-0
12-13 Sun Belt Record__________0-0
Head Coach_____________________ Garry Brodhead (Lousiana '80)
Record at UL____________________ 1-0 (first season)
Career Record___________________same
Last Game______________________ Nov. 9, 2012 at Southern
W, 71-69
Website________________________RaginCajuns.com

LSU-Shreveport Overview
12-13 Record___________________2-0
12-13 RRAC Record_____________0-0
Head Coach_____________________ Ronnie Howell (Babtist Christian College)
Record at Southern_______________152-116 (10th season)
Career Record___________________same
Last Game______________________ Nov. 10, 2012 vs Dallas Christian College
W, 78-44
Website________________________lsus.edu/athletics

Series History
Series record: Louisiana leads 5-1
Last meeting: LSU-Shreveport 63, UL 50 (Nov. 14, 2011)

Series History between UL and LSU-Shreveport
Nov. 14, 2011 L: Louisiana 50 LSU-Shreveport 63
Nov. 15, 2010 W: Louisiana 74, LSU-Shreveport 67
Nov. 16, 2009 W: Louisiana 65, LSU-Shreveport 63
Nov. 4, 2008 W: Louisiana 53, LSU-Shreveport 52
Dec. 9, 2007 W: Louisiana 63, LSU-Shreveport 40
Dec. 12, 2005 W: Louisiana 91, LSU-Shreveport 50

Game Day Story Lines

• Louisiana opens the home portion of the 2012-13 season against LSU-Shreveport for the seventh overall meeting between the two teams.
• LSU-Shreveport is an NAIA school, apart of the RRAC conference.
• UL holds an edge on the overall record, 5-1.
• Last season, the Pilots beat the Cajuns 63-50 at Earl K. Long Gym.
• UL returns four letterwinners from last year and one starter in Robbie Brown.
• The squad welcomes seven newcomers, including five freshmen and two junior college transfers.
• UL scored 108 points in their opening exhibition game against Centenary, surpassing the century mark for the first time since Nov. 29, 1989 when the Cajuns beat Texas Southern, 101-83.
• The Cajuns are coming off an exciting season opener after Kia Wilridge scored a layup as time expired to beat Southern, 71-69.
• Four UL players scored in double digits with Ashley Benjamin leading the way with 19 points.
• The Cajuns forced 20 Southern turnovers, while only turning the ball over 11 times despite a fast paced offense. The Cajuns also recorded 14 steals.
• Byronesha Santiago and Keke Veal led the Cajuns with 9 boards apiece. The two also contributed 14 points.
• Sylvana Okde finished the game with 11 points and hit two three-pointers to round out the double-digit scorers.
• UL did a good job of getting to the free throw line against Southern, making 24 trips, however the Cajuns hope to improve their percentage after shooting just 41.7%.
• Byronesha Santiago recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the exhibition game against Centenary.
• Brown played in 30 games last season, averaging 3.4 points, 2.4 assists and 19.4 minutes played.
• Brooklyn Arceneaux is the returning leading scorer for the Cajuns, averaging 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds last season. She saw action in 24 games and averaged 19.4 minutes.
• Megan Whittaker is the second returning leading scorer, averagining 3.7 points per contest last season. She was second on the team in three-pointers, knocking down 27.
• Schambough is the lone senior on the squad. She saw action in 16 games last season, averaging 3.5 minutes per contest.

NEW HEAD COACH GARY BRODHEAD
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 basketball coaching. He most recently served as associate head coach at McNeese State

Brodhead is best known for his accomplishments during a 10-year tenure as the girl's basketball coach at Teurlings Catholic High Shool in Lafayette, La., where he compiled a 297-78 record, winning one state title.

While at Teurlings, Brodhead won nine district titles, advancing the Lady Rebels to the semi-finals of the state tourney six times, finishing as the runner-up once and as the champion in 2002. His 2000-01 squad was ranked in the USA Top 25, and three of his teams earned number one rankings in the state.

Along the way, Brodhead has gained the respect of his coaching peers, being voted the district coach of the year in nine of his 10 seasons. He was also the parish coach of the year three times and the Acadiana Coach of the Year twice.

Brodhead spent the last five seasons at McNeese State, helping guide the Cowgirls to a 52-15 record over the last two seasons including a pair of Southland Conference titles and appearances in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship.

A native of Lafayette, Brodhead graduated from UL in 1980 with a degree in business administration. He was a pole vaulter on the Ragin' Cajuns track team from 1976-80. Brodhead later returned to the University to serve as the women's basketball graduate assistant coach for the 1994-95 season.

In addition to his collegiate and high school coaching experience, Brodhead also spent time as an AAU coach, helping the Acadiana Stars to the national championship tournament, finishing eighth in 1997 and fifth in 2006.

Turning Up the D
• Look for the Cajuns to be very solid on the defensive end of the court this season as coach Brodhead stresses defense more than anything.
• The squad forced 32 Centenary turnovers and 20 steals in their opening exhibition game.
• Against Southern, the Cajuns forced 20 turnovers and had 14 steals.
• UL held Centenary to 38 points and outrebounded the opposition, 56-33.
• The Cajuns also outrebounded Southern 46-41.
• Louisiana forced 19.4 turnovers per game last season including a -1.9 turnover margin for a 0.5 assist/turnover ratio.
• UL had a total of 272 steals and averaged 9.1 per game.

Homegrown Talent
• Cajuns roster features eight players who hail from the state of Louisiana.
• To go a step further, five athletes prepped in the greater Lafayette area.

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), Deacon Jones (1999).
• For Brodhead, it represents a return to the city where many of his coaching successes occurred namely his stint at Teurlings Catholic High School where he posted a 297-78 record from 1998-2007.

Seeking to Reverse Fortune
• UL had a scoring deficit of -14.4 last season, averaging 52.1 points per game, while their opponents averaged 66.5.
• Louisiana held a .355 field goal percentage and a .264 three-point percentage last season.
• The squad averaged 8.8 free throws made per game and an average of .688 on the season from the charity stripe.

The Opposition
• LSU-Shreveport opened the season with a 54-50 win against Wayland Babtist University on Nov. 9.
• The squad defeated Dallas Christian College the next day, 78-44.
• The Pilots compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) within the Red River Athletic Conference.
• LSU-Shreveport returns all five starters from last season's squad, which defeated the Cajuns at home in 2011-12.
• The team began the season ranked 19^th in the NAIA preseason poll.
• The Pilots went 25-9 last season with a 21-3 RRAC record.
• Ronnie Howell begins his 10th year at the helm of the program.
• Sharde Henry returns for her senior year after an outstanding season last year as she led the Lady Pilots with 14.3 points per game, seven rebounds per game, and 2.24 steals a game.

Up Next For Louisiana
• The Ragin' Cajuns travel to Omaha, Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 16 to play Nebraska-Omaha at 7 p.m.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Welcome LSU-Shreveport to Earl K. Long Gym Monday

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