Cajuns Wrap Up Homestand Thursday Against Red Wolves

Game 17 - Louisiana (11-5, 3-4 SBC) vs. Arkansas State (12-6, 7-1 SBC)
Thursday, Jan. 22, 2014 • 5 p.m. (CT) • Lafayette, La. – Cajundome (11,550)
Live Stats l Live Video l Radio: ESPN 1420 AM (PxP - Steve Peloquin)
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana WBB Home Page l Arkansas State WBB Home Page
Louisiana Game Notes l Arkansas State Game Notes

LAFAYETTE, La. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team looks to rebound after a Monday overtime loss to ULM with a 5 p.m. Thursday contest against Arkansas State at the Cajundome. Fans can follow live scoring and video on RaginCajuns.com and also listen to the action on ESPN 1420 AM and on ESPN1420.com with Steve Peloquin calling the action. Pregame will begin at 4:45 p.m.

Last Time Out
- The Cajuns erased a seven-point halftime deficit and sent the game into overtime after two free throws from Kia Wilridge, but Louisiana was outdone in the extra period with a 67-60 defeat to ULM on Monday at the Cajundome
- The Cajuns had four players score in double figures for the second-straight game, led by Wilridge's 14. Robbie Brown (12), Jaylyn Gordon (11) and Simone Fields (10) also scored in double digits
- Louisiana forced the Warhawks to 23 turnovers and recorded a 27-9 advantage in points off turnovers. It was the 11th time this season the Cajuns had forced an opponent to more than 20 turnovers
- The Cajuns struggled from the charity stripe, hitting just 8-of-21 (38.1%) while ULM was 18-of-24 (75%)

A Look at the Red Wolves
- Arkansas State comes into Thursday's matchup with a 12-6 record and 7-1 mark in the Sun Belt, a half game behind SBC leader UALR
- The Red Wolves are second in the league in scoring with 71.8 points per game while holding teams to 63.2 points for fourth-best in the conference
- A-State is shooting 45.3 percent from the field this season to top the SBC
- The Red Wolves are led by reigning SBC Player of the Year Aundrea Gamble, who is averaging a league-best 20.3 points per game. She is second in the conference with 4.3 assists per game. The junior guard has totaled eight 20-point games this season to lead the SBC
- Junior forward Khadija Brown-Haywood is also averaging double figures with 11.0 points per game

Series History
- Arkansas State leads the all-time series 46-13 and is 23-7 against the Cajuns in Lafayette
- The teams split the series last season with Louisiana picking up a thrilling 77-76 victory at home before the Red Wolves recorded a 90-49 win in the regular season finale in Jonesboro

Last Season in Lafayette
- Louisiana shocked first-place Arkansas State last February, erasing a four-point deficit in the final minute to come away with a 77-76 win
- Jaylyn Gordon converted a three-point play with 42 seconds before Gabby Alexander came up with a steal and fastbreak layup to put the Cajuns up 74-73 with 29 seconds to play
- A-State answered with a basket with 17 seconds but a three-point play by Brooklyn Arceneaux with six ticks remaining gave Louisiana a 77-75 advantage
- The Red Wolves drew a foul with one second left on the clock but Jessica Flanery missed the second free throw and Sylvana Okde came down the board to give the Cajuns the win

Up Next
- Louisiana will begin a three-game road trip Saturday when the Cajuns travel to Atlanta, Ga. to take on Georgia State in a 11 a.m. (CT) contest

Stifling Defense
- As a team, the Cajuns defense has caused many problems for opponents this season, limiting teams to 57.8 points per game for 51st in the nation
- The Cajuns have forced opponents to 20-plus turnovers on 11 different occasions as teams are averaging 21.4 turnovers per game this season. In 15 of 16 games, a team has committed at least 15 turnovers with Louisiana Tech being the one exception (14)
- Louisiana ranks 10th nationally in turnover margin with teams recording 6.6 more turnovers per game than the Cajuns
- Louisiana is 48th in the country in steals per game, averaging 10.6 on the season
- Junior guard Kia Wilridge's tenacious defense this season has her ranked among the best in the country
- Wilridge has totaled 46 steals on the season for an average of 2.9 per game for first in the Sun Belt Conference and 25th in the country

Louisiana Among Sun Belt Schools
- Defense is what has stood out this season for the Cajuns, and their numbers have placed them near the top in the Sun Belt in several categories
- Among Sun Belt schools, Louisiana ranks first in turnover margin (+6.6), second in steals (10.6) and opponent turnovers per game (21.4), and third in scoring defense (57.8)
- In league play, the Cajuns lead the conference in steals per game (10.6), turnover margin (+7.6), and opponent turnovers per game (21.1), and have held teams to 60.6 points per game to rank third behind UALR (43.0 ppg) and UT Arlington (59.0 ppg)

Guards in the Sun Belt Rankings
- Guards Jaylyn Gordon, Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge are making several appearances in the SBC top-10 individual rankings
- Gordon comes in third in the SBC in free throw percentage (83.6%) and three-pointers per game (2.3), and seventh in scoring (13.8 ppg). In conference play, Gordon is first with 2.7 three-pointers per game
- Veal ranks fifth with 2.3 steals per game but leads the league in SBC play with 3.1 per game. She is sixth in the SBC with 3.4 assists per game and a 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio
- Wilridge appears four times in the SBC rankings, coming in first in steals (2.9 spg), ninth in assists (2.8 apg) and minutes (30.9), and 10th in scoring (13.0 ppg)

-- RaginCajuns.com --

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Players Mentioned

Gabby Alexander

Brooklyn Arceneaux

Robbie Brown

Simone Fields

Jaylyn Gordon

Sylvana Okde

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge