Cajuns Head To Arkansas For Sun Belt Conference Opener

Game 10 - Louisiana (8-1, 0-0 SBC) vs. UALR (7-2, 0-0 SBC)
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014 • 5:30 p.m. (CT) • Little Rock, Ark. – Jack Stephens Center (5,600)
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LAFAYETTE, La. – After recording an 8-1 record in non-conference action, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball teams opens up Sun Belt Conference play Tuesday when the Cajuns take on UALR at 5:30 p.m. in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Last Time Out
- Louisiana overcame an early second half deficit to record a 65-56 victory over Jackson State on Sunday at the Cajundome
- Keke Veal scored 13 of her 15 points in the second period to lead the Cajuns while matching a career-best five assists
- Jaylyn Gordon added 14 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the line, in addition to recording a career-high five steals
- Kia Wilridge was the third Cajun in double figures, finishing with 12 points, three assists and three steals. Wilridge joined Veal and Jasmin Mills in leading the team with seven rebounds apiece

A Look at the Trojans
- UALR is off to a strong start to the season, entering Sun Belt Conference play at 7-2
- The Trojans opened the 2014-15 season with a dominant 70-54 victory over then-No. 24 LSU, and have also earned big wins over Oklahoma, Memphis and Tulsa
- UALR was picked to finish second in the league in the SBC preseason poll, voted on by the conference's head coaches. The Trojans tallied 112 points and earned two first-place votes behind reigning champion Arkansas State
- Senior guard Taylor Gault comes off the bench to lead the Trojans with 12.8 points in 22.8 minutes per game
- Junior forward Shanity James also is averaging double figures with 10.0 points while adding a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game

Series History
- UALR leads the all-time series, 15-8
- The Trojans swept the Cajuns during the 2013-14 season, earning a 74-60 victory in Little Rock
- The series began in the 1999-2000 season with Louisiana picking up wins in seven of the first nine meetings
- However, UALR has won 13 of the last 14 meetings with the Cajuns' lone win coming Dec. 29, 2012 in a 56-54 overtime victory at home in head coach Garry Brodhead's first season at Louisiana

Up Next
- The Cajuns will host Troy in their Sun Belt Conference opener Saturday, Jan. 3 at 5 p.m. in the Cajundome

Through Nine Games
- With an 8-1 non-conference record this season, the Cajuns matched their best nine-game start in program history
- After dropping its season opener to SMU in the 2005-06 season, the Cajuns reeled off eight-straight wins under former head coach J. Kelley Hall to also start the season 8-1

Wilridge in the National Rankings
- Junior guard Kia Wilridge's tenacious defense through the first nine games of the season has her ranked among the best in the country
- Wilridge has totaled 28 steals on the season, 22 of those coming in the last five games, for an average of 3.1 steals per game to rank 20th in the nation

Louisiana's Upset Bid Falls Short
- Louisiana held a 34-22 advantage over No. 20 Mississippi State with less than five minutes to play in the first half, but a 10-0 run by the Bulldogs to end the period carried momentum over to the other side as MSU pulled out a 66-51 victory Dec. 17 at the Cajundome
- Keke Veal led the Cajuns with 17 points while Jaylyn Gordon added 13, shooting 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Kia Wilridge finished with 10 points and a team-high seven boards and four steals
- Louisiana held one of the nation's top offenses to 23 points below its season average as Mississippi State came into Wednesday's contest averaging 89.2 points per game to rank fifth in the nation
- The Cajuns also forced the Bulldogs into 24 turnovers, the fourth-straight game a Louisiana opponent has committed at least 20 turnovers
- Cold shooting haunted the Cajuns a majority of the game, finishing with a season-low 27.7 percentage from the floor including an 18.8 percent clip in the second half

Cajuns Match Best Start in Program History
- After their win over Southern-New Orleans, the Cajuns matched their best start in program history at 6-0
- In 1983, the Cajuns started off the season 6-0 under first-year head coach Ross Cook, eventually recording the program's first 20-win season with a 22-6 record

Cajuns Picked Sixth in the Sun Belt
- After tying for seventh in the Sun Belt Conference a season ago, the league's 11 head coaches tabbed the Cajuns sixth with 64 points in the SBC Preseason Poll
- Arkansas State was picked first with 118 points, receiving nine of the 11 first-place votes, while UALR was a close second with 112 points and two first-place votes
- Texas State (93), Georgia State (82) and Troy (70) rounded out the top five in the poll

Veal, Wilridge Named All-SBC Preseason
- Junior guards Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge were selected to the All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team, voted on by the league's head coaches
- Veal was named to the second team while Wilridge earned a spot on the third team
- Louisiana was joined by Arkansas State, Georgia State, South Alabama, Texas State and UALR in placing a league-high two players on the preseason team

-- RaginCajuns.com --

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Players Mentioned

Jaylyn Gordon

Jasmin Mills

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge