Cajuns Seek to Continue Long Gym Success Against North Texas

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes

GAME CENTER
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013
Location: Lafayette, La.
Opponent: North Texas (7-13, 6-5 Sun Belt)
Site: Earl K. Long Gym (1,121)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m. (CST)
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM (Steve Peloquin)

LOUISIANA-NORTH TEXAS SERIES
The Series: North Texas leads 18-16
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads 11-5
At Earl K. Long Gym: Louisiana leads 6-3
Series Streak: North Texas – won 3
Last Meeting: North Texas 71, Louisiana 59 (Denton, Texas // Dec. 1, 2012)
Noteworthy: Louisiana has come away victorious in six of the past seven meetings at Earl K. Long Gym (NT won first two EKL meetings) and enter Wednesday's game on a four-game win streak over the Mean Green in the facility.

LOUISIANA
12-13 Record____________________     7-13
12-13 Sun Belt Record____________      1-10
Last Game______________________     Jan. 23, 2013
                                                                              vs. FIU L, 63-64 (OT)
Head Coach____________________        Garry Brodhead
   UL Record____________________        7-13 (1^st Season)
   Career Record_________________      Same
   Brodhead vs. NT_______________        0-1
Web Site_______________________      www.RaginCajuns.com

NORTH TEXAS
12-13 Record____________________     7-13
12-13 Sun Belt Record____________       6-5
Last Game______________________     Jan. 26, 2013
                                                                             vs. UALR L, 48-52
Head Coach____________________       Mike Petersen
   NT Record____________________       7-13 (1^stSeason)
   Career Record_________________      320-263 (20^th Season)
   Petersen vs. UL________________    1-0
Web Site________________________    www.MeanGreensports.com

Game Night Story Lines
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns wrap up January on Wednesday at home hosting North Texas at Earl K. Long Gym at 7 p.m. It will be the team's first outing in a week's time, as Saturday served as one of two “byes” in the Sun Belt schedule
>>> North Texas claimed the season's first meeting, a 71-59 decision back on Dec. 1 in Denton, Texas.
>>> Louisiana is 5-5 at home in Garry Brodhead's inaugural season (4-4 Earl K. Long Gym/1-1 Cajundome)
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns began a stretch of six-of-eight games at home last Wednesday, taking FIU to overtime before falling 64-63.
>>> Louisiana is in search of its first win of the “New Year” and has lost seven straight since the double-overtime win over UALR on Dec. 29.
>>> The freshman class of Sylvana Okde (11.4), Keke Veal (11.1), Kia Wilridge (8.9), Jasmin Mills (4.3) and Adrienne Prejean (1.7) – the foundation class on which Garry Brodhead plans to rebuild the program – averages 37.4 points per game (65 percent of the team's offensive production).
>>> The three-point exploits of Sylvana Okde continued against FIU as she connected on three triples in a contest for the third time in the past five games and ninth time this season (finished 3-of-4).
>>> Sylvana Okde is on pace for 81 three-point field goals made, which would land in the program's all-time, single-season Top 5 list. The last Cajuns player to convert 80-plus three-point field goals was Rhonda McCullough back in 1989-90
>>> Keke Veal has averaged double figures each week of January, and enters this week averaging 12.0 points per game in the month.
>>> Louisiana has committed more turnovers than the opposition only six times in 20 contests (UL ranks fourth in the SBC in turnover margin at +2.4).

LAST TIME OUT: FIU 64, Louisiana 63 in OT at Earl K. Long Gym
    The Ragin' Cajuns kept pace with FIU throughout the evening – the lead changing hands 13 times – and had an opportunity to claim victory in regulation.
    Keke Veal's shot attempt from the top of the key as time expired bounced off the back of the rim resulting in a 56-all deadlock which forced an extra session. FIU received a boost from Jerica Coley in overtime to outlast Louisiana 64-63.
    UL struck first in overtime as Veal connected on a jumper 40 seconds in. The defense held FIUin check, forcing consecutive empty possessions. Coley, who finished with a game-high 34 points, ended the scoring drought with baskets at 3:29 and 2:36 to give the Panthers a 60-58 edge.
    Veal missed a three-point attempt for a chance at the lead, then Marita Davydova's jumper upped the FIU lead to 62-58 with 1:30 remaining.
    Louisiana made one final push, drawing within a point (62-61) after a Veal layup with 27 seconds left and holding possession after Coley missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Veal drove into the lane, but was whistled for an offensive foul and Coley made a pair of free throws with nine seconds showing to up the lead to 64-61.
    Louisiana shot 48 percent (24-of-50) in regulation and cut through the Panthers defense throughout the evening finishing with a 30-26 edge in points in the paint.
    Veal's team-high 15 points paced three Cajuns in double digits. Ashley Benjamin added 13 points and Sylvana Okde notched 12 on the strength of three 3-point baskets. Seven different Cajuns made multiple field goals.
    Tied at 56-all, Ashley Benjamin stole the ball from Coley in the final 20 seconds of regulation to set up a potential game-clinching drive. A block by Coley and missed jumper by Veal allowed FIU to dodge defeat.

SERIES HISTORY (NT leads 18-16, overall; UL leads 11-5 in Lafayette; UL leads 6-3 at E.K. Long Gym)
>>> Series has featured two distinct eras – Southland Conference (1983-84 through 1986-87) and Sun Belt Conference (2000-01 to present).
>>> North Texas holds a 14-11 edge in games contested as Sun Belt Conference foes.
>>> Louisiana has come away victorious in six of the past seven meetings at Earl K. Long Gym (NT won first two EKL meetings) and enter Wednesday's game on a four-game win streak over the Mean Green in the facility.
>>> North Texas has swept the Sun Belt season series four times. By virtue of a 71-59 win back on Dec. 1 in Denton, the Mean Green has a chance for its fifth SBC season series sweep.
>>> Wednesday contest marks the final meeting as Sun Belt foes (NT departs for C-USA at end of the season.)
>>> First meeting came March 8, 1974 in AIAW Regional Tournament (NT won 62-56).

NOTING NORTH TEXAS
>>> Mike Petersen is in his first year as the head coach of North Texas. Petersen, a coaching veteran who is entering his 20th season overall, has 320 career wins.
>>> The Mean Green is led by two true freshmen in scoring (Alexis Hyder - 13.0 ppg & Loryn Goodwin - 12.4 ppg).
>>> Laura McCoy has worked her way into the top-5 all-time in school history with 108 career 3-pointers.
>>> Loryn Goodwin has 38 3-pointers and 66 steals. She is hitting 37.6 percent of her 3-pointers on the year, which is the best 3-point FG percentage by a freshman since 1995-96.
>>> North Texas has lost three straight games since beginning January with a six-game win streak.
>>> North Texas dropped two straight games at home last week and was held to less than 50 points in both games.

LAST TIME VS. NORTH TEXAS (Dec. 1, 2012 – The Super Pit/Denton, Texas)
>>> A back-and-forth first half ended with North Texas leading 30-28. The Mean Green used an 11-0 run to take a 26-15 lead. The Ragin' Cajuns came storming back with an 11-0 run of their own to tie the game at 26-26.
>>> Laura McCoy knocked down a three-pointer to open the second half, which sparked a 17-8 run by the Mean Green to start the second stanza.
>>> The Cajuns trailed 57-51 with 5:57 remaining, but the Mean Green scored on four of its next five possessions, while UL went scoreless, and opened a 65-51 lead with 3:15 remaining.

DEFENDING “THE EARL”
>>> Louisiana has won the last four meetings with North Texas at Earl K. Long Gym.

TOTAL TEAM EFFORT
>>> The Cajuns saw seven players convert double digit field goals vs. FIU (1/23).
>>> For the season, five different players have made at least 40 field goals.

VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
>>> The wins and losses may not be satisfactory, but several key freshmen on this year's Cajuns squad are building toward a strong future.
>>> Three of the five freshmen have garnered double figure starts and average over 20 minutes per game – Sylvana Okde (16 starts/32.6 mpg), Kia Wilridge (15 starts/32.2 mpg) and Jasmin Mills (15 starts/23.4 mpg).
>>> Keke Veal averages 24.5 minutes and has seven starts, while Adrienne Prejean has seen action in all 20 contests averaging 14.4 minutes.

STEALING THE SHOW
>>> Louisiana ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 10.9 steals per game. The Cajuns have nabbed double digits in steals 11 times in 20 contests.
>>> The Mean Green is just as proficient, collecting an average of 11.4 steals per game.

TURNING UP THE “D”
>>> Thus far this season, the Cajuns defense has forced the opposing teams into 20.2 turnovers per game while UL averages 17.8, giving the squad a +2.4 turnover margin.
>>> 372 of the 1,141 points scored have been points off turnovers (33 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.

SHE HAS THE TOUCH
>>> Freshman Sylvana Okde continues to impress with her abilities from three-point range.
>>> 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 40.6 percent from three-point range (54-of-133).

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.

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 20.2 turnovers per game.
>>> Wilridge tops the squad with 45 steals, while Veal is a close second with 43 steals.

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 step on the opponent's home court for the first time in nearly two weeks when the squad visits Troy on Saturday, Feb. 2. The game is set to tip at 5:15 p.m., and is the opening half of a doubleheader with the Cajuns-Trojans men's teams.
>>> The game will mark the Cajuns' first appearance in the brand new Trojan Arena located on the Troy University campus.
>>> Following the Troy contest the Cajuns take another week-long break from game action as Wednesday, Feb. 6 serves as the squad's second “bye” in the 2012-13 Sun Belt schedule.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Seek to Continue Long Gym Success Against North Texas

Next Event

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics