Cajuns Begin Homestand Saturday Against Sam Houston State

Game 5 - Louisiana (4-0, 0-0 SBC) vs. Sam Houston St. (1-5, 0-0 SLC)
Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014 • 2 p.m. (CT) • Lafayette, La. – Cajundome (11,550)
General Admission – $5 l BOGO Promotion
Live Stats l Live Video l Radio: ESPN 1420 AM (PxP - Steve Peloquin)
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana WBB Home Page l Sam Houston State WBB Home Page
Louisiana Game Notes l Sam Houston State Game Notes

LAFAYETTE, La. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team will look to extend their season-opening win streak to five Saturday at 2 p.m. when the Cajuns host Sam Houston State in the first of a three-game homestand at the Cajundome.

Louisiana improved to 4-0 for the first time since the 1983-84 season last Saturday when the Cajuns defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 71-60, in Hammond. Jaylyn Gordon paced the Cajuns with 23 points, while Kia Wilridge added 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds and four assists. Keke Veal also reached double figures, totaling 14 points and recording a team-best three steals for Louisiana.

Fans attending all home men's and women's basketball games during the month of December can take advantage of a Buy-One, Get-One Free ticket promotion. All tickets part of the promotion are located in the 300-level of the Cajundome. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Cajundome Box Office at (337) 265-2100, or can be purchased in-person at the Cajundome Box Office. Tickets are available in advance or on each game day.

A Look at the Bearkats
- Sam Houston State is currently 1-5 on the season after defeating Texas Southern 61-54 Wednesday in Huntsville
- The Bearkats return 11 letterwinners and three starters from the 2013-14 season. Sam Houston was picked to finish 10th in the Southland Conference in both the Coaches and SID Polls after a 13-16 season and an eighth-place finish in the SLC in 2013-14
- The Bearkats are led by junior guard Shernise Robertson, who is averaging 16.0 points and 3.4 steals per game this season
- Robertson is shooting 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from behind the arc and is 33-of-38 from the free-throw line
- Sophomore guard Taylor Dorsey is also averaging double figures with 10.7 points per game

Series History
- Louisiana leads 5-4 in the all-time series that dates back to 1972
- The Cajuns have won four of the last five meetings with the Bearkats claiming an 83-73 victory last season in Huntsville
- Saturday's contest will be the first in Lafayette between the two teams since Dec. 18, 2004 when Louisiana defeated Sam Houston State, 90-72
- Louisiana is 2-0 at home versus the Bearkats, also claiming a 70-68 win during the 2000-01 season

4 AND 0
- After a 71-60 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, the Cajuns are off to their best start in 31 years at 4-0
- In 1983, the Cajuns started off the season 6-0, which still stands as the best start to a season in program history

Veal Reaches 600-Point Plateau
- With a basket at the 7:24 mark in the second half vs. Southeastern Louisiana, junior guard Keke Veal surpassed the 600-point mark in her 47th career game
- Veal is averaging 12.8 points per game as a Cajun and now has 601 career points

Winning Streaks
- A win Saturday over the Bearkats would give Louisiana its first five-game winning streak since the Cajuns' 2006-07 NCAA Tournament season, which would tie for sixth in program history
- Louisiana can also extend its five-game home win streak with a victory Saturday
- The Cajuns' five-game home win streak currently ties for the fifth-longest in school history

Wilridge Coming on Strong for Cajuns
- Over the last three games, junior guard Kia Wilridge is leading Louisiana with 16.3 points, 4.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game
- Like Veal, Wilridge is also approaching a milestone, needing just eight more points to reach 500 for her career

Triple Threat
- Guards Keke Veal, Kia Wilridge and Jaylyn Gordon have created a dangerous trio for the Cajuns when all three are on the floor
- This season, the trio has combined for 63.7 percent of Louisiana's points, 78.4 percent of the team's assists and 54.5 percent of the team's steals

Cajuns Among the Top in SBC in Defense
- The Cajuns defense has put up some impressive numbers through the first four games of the 2014-15 season
- While the Cajuns are averaging 68.2 points per game, opponents are being held to 55.8 points, which ranks second in the Sun Belt, and are shooting just 38.4 percent from the field, good enough for third in the league
- The Cajuns are also among the leaders in the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 30.2 percent from long range to place the team fourth in the SBC

Up Next
- Louisiana will continue its homestand next Saturday, Dec. 13 when the Cajuns host Southern-New Orleans for a 4:15 p.m. contest at the Cajundome
- The Cajuns close out their home slate before the Christmas break Wednesday, Dec. 17 with a 11 a.m. matchup vs. Mississippi State

Returning for the Cajuns
- Louisiana returns eight letterwinners and four starters from the 2013-14 season
- Redshirt junior guard/forward Brooklyn Arceneaux returns this season as the Cajuns' leading scorer, earning All-Sun Belt Third Team honors after averaging 10.5 points and a team-high 5.2 boards a season ago. Arceneaux will sit out the first half of the season to recover from ACL surgery
- The return of junior guards Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge will also help Louisiana on the offensive and defensive end
- Veal led the Cajuns with 11.9 points, 3.1 steals and 2.5 assists per game through the first 13 games of the season before she suffered a season-ending injury
- In 2013-14, Wilridge led the Cajuns with 29.0 minutes per game in 22 appearances and 17 starts. In her time on the floor, Wilridge averaged 9.0 points, a team-high 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game, which ranked eighth in the SBC
- Also returning for the Cajuns are senior Robbie Brown (4.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg), juniors Jasmin Mills (4.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) Adrienne Prejean (3.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and sophomores Gabby Alexander (5.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Jaylyn Gordon (9.0 ppg, 2.0 apg)

Welcome to Cajun Country
- With the addition to its eight returners, Louisiana also brings in a talented group of six newcomers to the 2014-15 roster
- Joining the Cajuns this season are Jodi Quinn (St. Martinville), T'Erika Bell (Monroe), Simone Fields (San Antonio, Texas), Alexis Nezianya (Carrollton, Texas), Cienna Rodriguez (Cypress, Texas) and D'Rae Tullock (Middleton, Idaho)

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 --

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Gabby Alexander

Brooklyn Arceneaux

T'Erika Bell

Robbie Brown

Simone Fields

Jaylyn Gordon

Jasmin Mills

Alexis Nezianya

Adrienne Prejean

Jodi Quinn

Cienna Rodriguez

D'Rae Tullock

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge