Ragin' Cajuns Clash With Privateers Thursday

Game 9
Louisiana (4-4) vs. New Orleans (1-7)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: Earl K. Long Gym
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Series History: New Orleans leads 45-25
Last Meeting: Louisiana 80, New Orleans 63 on Dec. 19, 2010 at the Cajundome

Setting The Scene
Louisiana returns to Earl K. Long Gym to host New Orleans on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 7:00 p.m. The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off a come-from-behind win against Jackson State on Monday, beating the Tigers, 68-57. With the win, Louisiana improved to 4-4 overall (0-2 SBC). Three Ragin' Cajuns scored in double figures with freshman Keke Veal leading the way with 16 points, 13 of which came in the final five minutes of action. Byronesha Santiago posted her third double double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Sylvana Okde contributed 15 points, her sixth double-figures scoring game this season. The Lady Privateers are 45-25 all-time against the Ragin' Cajuns, including a 20-12 mark in New Orleans, 21-12 mark in Lafayette and a 4-1 record on neutral floors. Louisiana has won the last three games in the series.

Previewing Louisiana
UL returns just four players from a year ago, opening the season with seven newcomers (five freshmen and two junior college transfers). Five Cajuns average double-digits in scoring and leading the way is freshman guard Sylvana Okde's 13.3 points per game. Fellow freshman Keke Veal is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points to go along with 4.6 rebounds. Kia Wilridge averages 10.5 points and her 4.0 steals per game is tied for 9th in the nation. Ashley Benjamin and Byronesha Santiago contribute 10.5 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Santiago leads the squad in rebounding with 8.6 per game.

The Opposition
New Orleans is coming off a 69-67 loss to Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, Dec. 11. The Privateers rallied from a 17-point deficit, tying the game in the final minute before falling on a late shot. UNO has three players averaging double digits: Keri Thomas (12.6), Mechel'le Thomas (10.6) and Mirjam Sipos (10.3). Mathild Fogelstrom leads the team in rebounding, averaging 9.0 per contest. The Privateers average 55.9 points per game, while the opposition averages 71.0. With the 68-58 win over Arkansas-Monticello on Nov. 20, the Privateers ended a 30-game losing streak that dated back to Jan. 29, 2011. UNO has dropped its last 22 games vs. Division I foes with the most recent win, a 55-48 upset victory over Denver in the Sun Belt Conference
quarterfinals on Mar. 7, 2010.

Eight Games, Eight Lineups
Through eight games, Louisiana's head coach Garry Brodhead has supplied eight different starting lineups. The only consistency in the lineup through the opening eight games has been freshman guards Kia Wilridge, Sylvana Okde and junior Ashley Benjamin who have started seven of the eight contests.

Game Day Story Lines
• The Cajuns opened up a stretch of four non-conference games on Monday, Dec. 10 defeating Jackson State, 68-57.
• Four UL players average double-digits in scoring with freshman guard Sylvana Okde leading the way, averaging 13.3 points, to go along with 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
• Keke Veal is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds.
• Kia Wilridge averages 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and leads the team in steals with 31 in eight games.
• Ashley Benjamin and Byronesha Santiago average 10.5 and 10.3 points, respectively. Santiago leads the team in rebounding with 8.6 per contest.
• UL has outscored opponents, 526-510. The Cajuns average 65.8 ppg while holding the opposition to 63.8.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are shooting .303 from behind the arc (33-109) which ranks fifth in the Sun Belt and .618 from the charity stripe (97-157).
• UL won convincingly, 83-42, against LSU-Shreveport on Nov. 12 and earned their first 2-0 start since the 2004-05 season.
• The Cajuns are 3-1 at Earl K. Long Gym and 1-3 on the road.
• The 2010-11 season is the last time the Cajuns recorded a winning non-conference record, going 7-6.

Cajuns in the Sun Belt
• The Cajuns average a hefty 12.9 steals per game, which leads the league and ranks 33^rd nationally.
• Sylvana Okde leads the Sun Belt averaging 2.8 treys per game this season and has already knocked down 22.
• Fellow freshman Kia Wilridge is second in the SBC with 31 steals.
• Wilridge's 3.6 assists per game ranks fifth in the SBC.
• Byronesha Santiago's 8.6 rebounds per contest ranks third in the Sun Belt.
• UL is leading the league with 103 steals while only having the ball stolen from them 60 times.
• The Cajuns are fifth in offensive rebounds, averaging 40.8. As a result, the Cajuns have generated 136-second chance points.
• On the defensive end, the Cajuns average 36.2 rebounds, which ranks second.

Last Time vs UNO (12-19-2010)
Three Ragin' Cajuns reached double-figures as the University of Louisiana women's basketball cruised to an 80-63 victory over the University of New Orleans inside the Cajundome on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010.

Louisiana (7-5) jumped out to a 31 point lead at the half, but New Orleans (0-11) outscored the Cajuns 45-to-31 in the second half. UL handled the boards, out-manning the Lady Privateers 53-to-30 in the rebounds column. The 53 rebounds was a season best for the Cajuns.

UL made 32 field goals out of 72 attempts for 44 percent, while holding UNO to just 39 percent (24-of-62).

Dinnelle Cormier tallied 16 points to lead the Lady Privateers.

Louisiana started off the contest on a 21-to-6 run and never looked back, taking a 49-18 lead into the half. Lyndra Bell notched 12 points, while Mercedes Johnson tied her career high and the Cajundome record in rebounds with 16.

The Lady Privateers pulled within 11 with less than two minutes to go in the contest. UL again answered adding four points from Bell as UL reached 80 points for the third time this season.

Turning Up the D
• Thus far this season, the Cajuns swarming defense has forced the opposing teams into 23.4 turnovers per game while UL averages 18.3, giving the squad a +5.1 turnover margin.
• 177 of the 526 points scored this season have been points off turnovers.
• The Cajuns recorded a season high of 31 points off turnovers against Omaha and LSU-Shreveport.
• UL averages 40.8 rebounds per game, while the opposition is averaging 36.3.
• 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 last year.

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.
• Wilridge and Veal have contributed a combined 95 of 283 points in the first four games of the season.

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.

Up Next For Louisiana
• The Ragin' Cajuns welcome UC Riverside to Earl K. Long Gym on Monday, Dec. 17 at 7:00 p.m.

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Ragin' Cajuns Clash With Privateers Thursday

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