Final Stretch of Home Games Starts Saturday at Cajundome

Contact: Matt Hebert

Game Notes

GAME CENTER
Date: Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013
Location: Lafayette, La.
Opponent: Florida Atlantic (11-13, 8-8 Sun Belt)
Site: Cajundome (11,550)
Game Time: 5:00 p.m. (CST)
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com
Radio: None

LOUISIANA-FLORIDA ATLANTIC SERIES
The Series: Florida Atlanticleads 7-3
In Lafayette: Florida Atlantic leads 3-1
In Cajundome: Florida Atlantic leads 1-0
Series Streak: Florida Atlantic – won 2
Last Meeting: Florida Atlantic 79, Louisiana 44 (Boca Raton, Fla. // Jan. 2, 2013)
Noteworthy: FAU makes its final trip to Lafayette for a Sun Belt contest. The Owls, who have won the last three meetings in the city, depart for Conference USA following the 2012-13 season.

LOUISIANA
12-13 Record____________________     7-17
12-13 Sun Belt Record_____________    1-14
Last Game______________________     Feb. 13, 2013
                                                                            at South Alabama L, 38-53
Head Coach____________________       Garry Brodhead
   UL Record____________________       7-17 (1^st Season)
   Career Record_________________      Same
   Brodhead vs. FAU______________        0-1
Web Site_______________________      www.RaginCajuns.com

FLORIDA ATLANTIC
12-13 Record____________________    11-13
12-13 Sun Belt Record____________      8-8
Last Game______________________     Feb. 13, 2013
                                                                            vs. Western Kentucky L,61-64
Head Coach____________________       Kellie Lewis-Jay
   FAU Record___________________      11-13 (1^stSeason)
   Career Record_________________      Same
   Lewis-Jay vs. UL_______________    1-0
Web Site_______________________     www.FAUsporst.com

Game Night Story Lines
>>> Louisiana starts a three-game homestand on Saturday hosting Florida Atlantic at the Cajundome. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m., in the first half of a doubleheader with the Cajuns-Owls men's teams.
>>> The contest wraps up a the Sun Belt home-and-home with FAU. The Owls claimed the season's first meeting, 79-44 in Boca Raton on Jan. 2.
>>> Saturday's game features the lone two coaches in the Sun Belt Conference making their debut as a collegiate head coach – Louisiana's Garry Brodhead and Florida Atlantic's Kellie Lewis-Jay.
>>> Three of the last five games have been close calls for Garry Brodhead's troops, experiencing 12 ties and 13 lead changes vs. FIU (Jan. 23) and 11 ties and 11 changes at Troy (Feb. 2), then holding the lead for all but 1:15 of the second half vs. ULM only to have the Warhawks rally to force overtime.
>>> The Cajuns are 1-2 at the Cajundome in the inaugural Garry Brodhead campaign and sport a 5-7 record in home games (4-5 at E.K. Long Gym).
>>> Louisiana has played three overtime games at home which includes two of the past three games. ULM snuck out a 68-63 OT win in UL's last home outing (2/10).
>>> The freshman class of Keke Veal (11.4), Sylvana Okde (11.3), Kia Wilridge (8.0), Jasmin Mills (4.8) and Adrienne Prejean (1.6) – the foundation class on which Garry Brodhead plans to rebuild the program – averages 37.1 points per game (66 percent of the team's offensive production).
>>> Sylvana Okde remains on pace for 78 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 70-plus three-point field goals was Rhonda McCullough with 88 back in 1989-90.
>>> Keke Veal produced double figures in points for the eighth time in the past 10 outings with 11 at South Alabama. Veal is averaging 12.4 points per game since Jan. 1.
>>> Louisiana has committed more turnovers than the opposition only six times in 24 contests (UL ranks fourth in the SBC in turnover margin at +2.6).

LAST TIME OUT: South Alabama 53, Louisiana 39 in Mobile, Ala.
A second half surge by South Alabama proved to be too much as the Ragin' Cajuns dropped a 53-39 decision to the Jaguars here Wednesday night at the Mitchell Center.
After a closely contested first half, the Jaguars went on to shoot 9-for-18 (50 percent) in the second half seeing their lead swell to double digits as large as 16 points twice, while Louisiana was held to 24 percent shooting (6-for-25) in the half.
The Jaguars used an 8-0 run out of the halftime break to take their biggest lead of the contest, 37-21, at the 16:55 mark. The Cajuns answered with an 11-1 run of their own to pull within six points at 38-32. Ashley Benjamin had four of the 10 points during the span.
USA knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead to 12 points at the 11:57 mark. The Jaguars' lead would not drop below double digits for the remainder of the contest.
Keke Veal led the squad with 11 points on the night, while both Sylvana Okde (9) and Kia Wilridge (8) fell just short of double digits. Okde knocked down three three-point field goals to increase her season total to 63.
Six different USA players made a three-pointer in the game led by Mary Nixon who had 12 points and was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Okde got the Cajuns offense going with a three-point basket just 21 seconds into game. Louisiana would jump out to a 5-0 lead after a jumper by Veal.
The Cajuns held South Alabama scoreless for the first 3:45 of the contest as USA was 0-for-7 from the field during that span.
South Alabama grabbed its first lead at the 12:52 mark after a pair of free throws by Mansa El. The Jaguars extended their advantage to five points, 20-15, with 7:33 left in the half.

SERIES HISTORY (Florida Atlantic leads 7-3, overall; Florida Atlantic leads 3-1 in Lafayette)
>>> First series meeting took place on Feb. 6, 1993 when the Cajuns completed a non-conference, Florida road trip with a stop in Boca Raton (FAU won 83-45). The following season (1993-94), the Owls returned the visit and the Cajuns posted a 64-55 win at Bourgeouis Hall.
>>> Series would go on hiatus until FAU joined the Sun Belt in 2006-07. Louisiana won the first SBC meeting, a 79-61 triumph in Boca Raton on Jan. 25, 2007, but the Owls have bounced back to win six of the past seven meetings.
>>> Saturday's game marks the second meeting in the Cajundome. FAU won the first meeting at the Cajundome, claiming a 66-52 last season on Dec. 31, 2011.
>>> FAU holds a 6-2 series edge in the Sun Belt Conference era.
>>> FAU makes its final trip to Lafayette for a Sun Belt contest. The Owls, who have won the last three meetings in the city, depart for Conference USA following the 2012-13 season.

NOTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC
>>> Florida Atlantic set season highs in four categories to earn a 79-44 win over Louisiana on Jan. 2 in Boca Raton. The Owls allowed a season low in points, made 11 three pointers, grabbed 57 rebounds and had 13 blocks.
>>> Senior guard Breana Turner ranks second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game. The New Orleans, La. native ranks 11th in program history with 917 career points. Turner played at De La Salle High School.
>>> The Owls won their last road game, picking up a 59-56 victory over South Alabama last Saturday. FAU is 3-5 in road SBC games.
>>> FAU ranks 16th nationally among NCAA Division I teams in turnover margin (+5.7) per game over the opposition.
>>> Breana Turner ranks 42nd nationally by making 84 percent of her free throw attempts. The 84-percent clip ranks third in the SBC.
>>> The Owls bench has outscored the opposing team's reserves in 17 of the 24 games this season. FAU is averaging 26.2 points per game from the bench..

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
>>> Following the FAU game, Louisiana continues its three-game homestand home hosting Troy on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at Earl K. Long Gym.
>>> The current homestand marks the final games of the 2012-13 home schedule.
>>> Wednesday's game with Troy is the final Earl K. Long Gym game of the season. Louisiana concludes its home schedule on Saturday, Feb. 23 hosting WKU at 5 p.m. in the Cajundome in a contest televised on the Sun Belt Network.
>>> Troy won the season's first meeting, posting a 68-61 victory on Feb. 2 at Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala.
>>> The home team has come away victorious in nine of the 11 meetings in Troy series. The two meetings the road team won occurred on Jan. 14, 2006 (UL won 81-69 in Troy) and Feb. 25, 2009 (Troy won 93-52 in Lafayette).

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Final Stretch of Home Games Starts Saturday at Cajundome

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