Cajuns Set for Another Sun Belt East Leader on Saturday

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes

GAME CENTER
Date: Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Opponent: Middle Tennessee (12-5, 7-1 Sun Belt)
Site: Murphy Center (11,520)
Game Time: 3:00 p.m. (CST)
Live Stats/Video: www.GoBlueRaiders.com
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM (Jay Walker)

LOUISIANA-MIDDLE TENNESSEE SERIES
The Series: Middle Tennessee leads 18-0
In Murfreesboro: Middle Tennessee leads 9-0
Series Streak: Middle Tennessee – won 18
Last Meeting: Middle Tennessee 72, Louisiana 45 (Earl K. Long Gym // Nov. 24, 2012)
Noteworthy: The two programs met for the Sun Belt Tournament championship in 2005 at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas (MT won 67-52) and in 2007 at the Cajundome (MT won 77-67).

LOUISIANA
12-13 Record____________________     7-11
12-13 Sun Belt Record_____________ 1-8
Last Game______________________      Jan. 16, 2013
at Western Kentucky L, 64-75
Head Coach____________________ Garry Brodhead
   UL Record____________________ 7-11 (1^st Season)
   Career Record_________________ Same
   Brodhead vs. MT_______________ 0-1
Web Site_______________________ www.RaginCajuns.com

MIDDLE TENNESSEE
12-13 Record____________________     12-5
12-13 Sun Belt Record_____________ 7-1
Last Game______________________ Jan. 16, 2013
vs. UALR W, 65-56
Head Coach____________________ Rick Insell
   MT Record____________________ 186-59 (8^thSeason)
   Career Record_________________ Same
   Insell vs. UL___________________ 10-0
Web Site________________________    www.GoBlueRaiders.com

Game Night Story Lines
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team challenges the Sun Belt East division leader for the second straight game when they face Middle Tennessee at 3 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 19 in the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
>>> Despite not arriving in Bowling Green until game day, the Cajuns gave co-SBC East leader Western Kentucky all they could handle on Wednesday. UL led by as many as 11 points in the second half (49-38 at 13:27) and held a 55-54 lead with 7:42 left. WKU rallied and snuck out a 75-64 win in Diddle Arena.
>>> Already shorthanded with only nine players available on the bench, the Cajuns will be without the services of Kia Wilridge (shoulder injury vs. Arkansas State), leaving the squad with only eight available players on Saturday.
>>> UL and MT meet for the second time this season. The Blue Raiders claimed the first matchup, posting a 72-45 win at Earl K. Long Gym on Nov. 24.
>>> The game is part of a doubleheader with the Cajuns and Blue Raiders' men's squads. It's the fourth SBC doubleheader of the season (UALR, FIU, ASU, MT).
>>> After knocking down 50 percent (10-of-20) of their three-point attempts at WKU, the Cajuns climbed to second in the Sun Belt in three-point field goal percentage (32.2%).
>>> The freshman class of Sylvana Okde (11.8), Keke Veal (11.1), Kia Wilridge (9.1), Jasmin Mills (4.2) and Adrienne Prejean (1.4) – the foundation class on which Garry Brodhead plans to rebuild the program – averages 37.6 points per game (65 percent of the team's offensive production)
>>> Freshman Sylvana Okde ranks Top 15 in the Sun Belt in scoring (11.8 ppg) and leads the league averaging 2.8 three-point makes per outing. Okde buried seven treys in the triumph at Tulane (12/19) and has made at least three in a game eight times.
>>> Louisiana has committed more turnovers than the opposition only five times in 18 contests. UL ranks fifth (5th) in the SBC in turnover margin (+2.8).

LAST TIME OUT: Western Kentucky 75, Louisiana 64 at E.A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, Ky.)
Sylvana Okde scored 22 points and Keke Veal added 17, but it was not enough as Louisiana couldn't hold an 11-point second half lead, falling 75-64 to first place Western Kentucky.
The Cajuns played the game without starting point guard Kia Wilridge, who suffered a shoulder injury in practice on Tuesday and did not make the trip to Kentucky. Freshman Keke Veal started in her place.
After Okde gave the Cajuns their final lead, 55-54, on a three-pointer with 7:42 left, WKU ran off 11 straight points to open up a 65-55 lead with 5:14 left and take control of the game. The Lady Toppers would hold off a Cajuns comeback by scoring their final eight points of the game from the foul line, going eight-for-11 over the last 2:46 of the game.
Okde finished 6-for-11 from three-point in registering her fourth 20-point game of the season.
Louisiana opened up its largest lead of the half when Brandi Schambough knocked down a long three-pointer from the right side to put the Cajuns ahead, 18-13 with 10:14 left. WKU answered right back, running off the next seven points to take a 20-18 advantage at 8:40.
After Jasmin Mills made a 12-footer to put Louisiana ahead, 23-22 with 6:44 left in the half, WKU went on a 10-2 run to open up its largest lead of the half, 32-25 with 1:22 left.
A three-pointer by Okde with 37 seconds left sent the Cajuns to the locker room trailing 32-28. Okde continued her hot-shooting in the second half, connecting on a pair of treys to lead Louisiana on an 8-0 run to open the stanza and give the Cajuns a 36-32 lead with 18:32 left.
Ashley Benjamin started an eight-point spurt for UL with five straight points on a basket and three free throws and Robbie Brown finished it with a three-pointer at the top of the key to put the Cajuns ahead, 49-38 at the 13:29 mark.

SERIES HISTORY (MT leads 18-0, overall; MT leads 9-0 in Murfreesboro)
>>> Ragin' Cajuns and Blue Raiders began their series when Middle Tennessee joined the Sun Belt Conference for the 2000-01 season.
>>> The Blue Raiders claimed all 18 meetings prior to Saturday's contest at the Murphy Center.
>>> The two programs met for the Sun Belt Tournament championship in 2005 at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas (MT won 67-52) and in 2007 at the Cajundome (MT won 77-67).
>>> Louisiana had a near miss at the Murphy Center in 2006 when an Ashley Blanche made jumper, that would have give the Cajuns a win, was ruled to have left her hands after the final horn sounded (Blue Raiders won 69-68).
>>> In last season's meeting at the Murphy Center (Jan. 7, 2012), the Blue Raiders scored a series-high 104 points (MT won 104-53).

NOTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
>>> Eboy Rowe has reached double-figure scoring in 25 straight games dating back to last season – the sixth longest streak in the nation. When she reaches 20 points or more, MT is 26-4, including 9-2 this season.
>>> Middle Tennessee remained in a two-way tie for first place in the SBC East with Western Kentucky after knocking off UALR, 65-56, on Wednesday.
>>> There are four Top 20 NCAA categories in which Ebony Rowe ranks. She is fifth in points (22.4), seventh in double-doubles (11), 17th in rebounds per game (11.2) and 19th in field goal percentage (55.2).
>>> The Blue Raiders are averaging 4,228 fans per game after eight home affairs.
>>> MT owns a 64-2 (.970) home conference record inside the Murphy Center under head coach Rick Insell.
>>> Rick Insell and current Blue Raider men's coach, Kermit Davis are the winningest basketball coaches in school history.

LAST TIME VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Nov. 24, 2012 – Earl K. Long Gym)
>>> The Blue Raiders defense forced several turnovers and went on a 22-2 run over a seven minute stretch in the first half on the way to a 72-45 win at Earl K. Long Gym back on Nov. 24.
>>> The Blue Raiders forced 20 Ragin' Cajuns turnovers in the opening stanza, scoring 26 points in the process. MT held a 41-22 lead at the break.
>>> A six point UL run cut the MT lead to 48-31 with 14 minutes remaining. Triples by MacKenzie Sells and Kortni Jones upped the Raiders advantage to 54-31 at the midway point in the second half and MT led by 20-plus points for all but 10 seconds the rest of the way.

GOOD RETURNS SO FAR
>>> At his Monday media luncheon, Garry Brodhead alluded to a change in offensive sets to provide better looks on shots for some of his top shooters.
>>> One game in and the strategy appeared to work. Sylvana Okde buried six triples (6-of-11) and Keke Veal connected on six field goal attempts on Wednesday at WKU.

THE TURNOVER GAME
>>> Saturday's contest features two of the Sun Belt's top teams in turnover margin – MT is second (+3.7) and Louisiana ranks fifth (+2.8).
>>> MT used a 41-12 edge in points off turnovers to pull away in season's first meeting.

STEALING THE SHOW
>>> Louisiana ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 11.5 steals per game. The Cajuns have nabbed double digits in steals 11 times in 18 contests.

TURNING UP THE “D”
>>> Thus far this season, the Cajuns defense has forced the opposing teams into 20.9 turnovers per game while UL averages 18.1, giving the squad a +2.8 turnover margin.
>>> 356 of the 1,042 points scored have been points off turnovers (34 percent).

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
>>> Not only is the coaching staff in their first season at UL, but six of the nine players on the roster are in their first Division I season.

MISS CLUTCH
>>> Brandi Schambough's last-second triple to pull out the win at Tulane on Dec. 19 brought back memories of a similar finish back on Feb. 20 vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
>>> In the team's 2011-12 non-conference finale, Schambough buried a trey with eight ticks left to pull UL out of a 60-59 deficit and to a win that halted a 17-game losing skid.

SHE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE AGAIN
>>> It was only fitting that Brandi Schambough hit the winning shot in the second overtime with UALR, given the Nebraska-Omaha and Tulane heroics.
>>> Schambough's trey with 27 seconds left gave UL a 56-54 lead in a win that ended a 10-game losing streak to the rising SBC West power UALR.

SHE HAS THE TOUCH
>>> Freshman Sylvana Okde continues to impress with her abilities from three-point range, continuously hitting treys from 22-23 feet away and in clutch moments.
>>> Okde converted a season-high seven makes from beyond the arc, including one as time expired, to send the Tulane contest into overtime.
>>> The Houston native, whose parents hail from Lebanon, is shooting 40.7 percent from three-point range (50-of-123).

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE
>>> The freshman duo of Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge is the leading force behind the Ragin' Cajuns forcing the opposition into an average of 20.8 turnovers per game.
>>> Wilridge tops the squad with 44 steals, while Veal is a close second with 41 steals.

ALREADY PROVING THEM WRONG
>>> The preseason pollsters selected Louisiana last in the Sun Belt West. Only four games into the 2012-13 league schedule, the Cajuns registered a victory over SBC West favorite and two-time defending league champion UALR on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012.

SHOW STOPPER
>>> Louisiana's 65-64 overtime win at Tulane brought an end to the Green Wave's 15-game win streak over Louisiana schools. Ten (10) days earlier, Tulane had defeated SEC-foe LSU 66-64 in Baton Rouge.

HOMEGROWN TALENT
>>> Cajuns roster features eight players who hail from the state of Louisiana.
>>> To go a step further, six athletes prepped in the greater Lafayette area (Brandi Schambough – St. Thomas More; Brooklyn Arceneaux – St. Thomas More; Robbie Brown – St. Thomas More; Kia Wilridge – St. Thomas More; Adrienne Prejean – Lafayette HS; Keke Veal – St. Thomas More).

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), 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.

REUNITED, PART 2
>>> Not only were teammates reunited this season, but members of the coaching staff were as well – Jennifer Sullivan rejoining Garry Brodhead and Sallie Guillory.
>>> The trio were assistant coaches at McNeese State during the 2008-09 campaign. Brodhead and Guillory remained at McNeese through 2011-12, while Sullivan spent 2009-10 through 2011-12 at Arkansas State.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD
>>> 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 women's basketball coaching.
>>> Brodhead replaced Errol Rogers who compiled a 38-113 record over five seasons (2007-08 through 2011-12).

THE LONE RANGER
>>> Reserve guard Brandi Schambough is the lone senior on Garry Brodhead's inaugural squad in Cajun Country.
>>> She's also the most experienced in terms of years in a collegiate uniform having played each of the previous three seasons.

DOUBLE THE PLEASURE FOR RAGIN' CAJUNS FANS
>>> There will be five home doubleheaders in the Cajundome this year featuring the Ragin' Cajuns men's and women's basketball teams.
>>> The first doubleheader comes on Dec. 29 when Louisiana hosts UALR. Arkansas State is the guest on Jan. 12 and UL plays UL-Monroe (Feb. 10), Florida Atlantic (Feb. 16) and Western Kentucky (Feb. 23) on successive weekends in February.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns close out January with back-to-back Wednesday evening home games at Earl K. Long Gym.
>>> First up is a rematch with FIU on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at Earl K. Long Gym at 7 p.m. The Cajuns and Panthers met on Jan. 5 in Miami with FIU posting a 63-47 victory.
>>> Next Saturday marks the first of two “bye” dates for Louisiana in the Sun Belt schedule.
>>> January concludes on Wednesday, Jan. 30 against North Texas. The Cajuns and Mean Green complete their Sun Belt home-and-home at 7 p.m. that evening in Earl K. Long Gym (NT won 71-59 in Denton on Dec. 1).
>>> The FIU-NT homestand opens a stretch in which six of the next eight games will be played in Lafayette.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Set for Another Sun Belt East Leader on Saturday

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