University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Troy
Cajuns Host Troy in "Red Out" Game on Saturday
1/22/2016 4:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Ragin' Cajuns (13-3, 6-1 SBC) look to run win streak to four games
Series History:Â Troy leads 9-8
Saturday, January 23, 2016 • 4 p.m. • Cajundome – Lafayette, La.
TV: ESPN3 | Live Stats l Live Video l Radio: ESPN1420 (Jay Walker)
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns • @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana Women's Basketball Home Page l Troy Women's Basketball Home Page | Louisiana Game Notes
LAFAYETTE – The Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team (13-3, 6-1 SBC) go for their 12th win in their last 14 games overall when Troy comes to town this Saturday, Jan. 23 for a 4 p.m. tip-off at the Cajundome.Â
Saturday's game with Troy will be a "Red Out". All fans in attendance are encouraged to wear red for the women's game. Saturday is also "Take a Kid to the Game." All children, ages 11 and under who are accompanied by an adult with a paid ticket receive free admission.
Louisiana is off to their best conference start in program history with a 6-1 record. The 6-1 conference mark is the best start since 1983-84 when they opened Southland Conference play at 5-2.Â
Fourth-year head coach Garry Brodhead passed Ross Cook for sole possession of second place for most wins in program history with 58 in the Cajuns' 56-39 win at Georgia Southern on Jan. 14. Brodhead is currently at 60 career wins and trails only J. Kelley Hall (86 wins) on the Cajuns all-time coaching ledger.
The trio of Keke Veal, Kia Wilridge and Jaylyn Gordon have all scored in double-figures in 10 games this season.Â
The Cajuns have handed out double-digit assists in four of the last five games and have finished with double-digit helpers in 12 of the 16 contests this season. Â
Freshman center Breionne Cooper scored nine points to go with four rebounds, a block and a steal against South Alabama. In her last two starts, Cooper has averaged 18.5 minutes per game and has averaged 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and has blocked three shots.Â
Junior Jaylyn Gordon has a team-leading 61 assists in 2015-16. Thirty-33 of those assists have come in conference games.Â
Setting the Scene: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (13-3, 6-1 SBC) look to keep their undefeated record at home (6-0) in tact when they host Troy this Saturday, Jan. 23 at the Cajundome. Louisiana is off to its best conference start (6-1) in program history and remain a half-game behind Arkansas State for first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings.Â
The Cajuns defense is first in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 55.2 points per game. Louisiana is also first in turnover margin at plus-7.6 (average of 13.5 turnovers vs. average of 21.1 turnovers forced).Â
Troy (10-6, 5-2 SBC) enters Saturday's game in third place in the conference standings, a full game behind the Ragin' Cajuns. The Trojans had their five game win streak snapped Thursday night at ULM in a 77-73 loss.Â
Coach Brodhead at the Helm: Louisiana head coach Garry Brodhead is in his fourth season at the helm of the Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball program, finishing with 23 wins last season, the most in a single season since 2006-07 (25). Brodhead guided the team to 15 victories at home in 2014-15, a program record. He passed Ross Cook (57) to move into sole possession of second place on the program's all-time wins list with his 58th victory on January 14. Brodhead trails only J. Kelley Hall (86) for the most wins by a coach in Ragin' Cajuns history.Â
Cajuns In the Rankings: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team improved their standing in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Basketball Mid-Major poll this week, moving up two spots to No. 22. Louisiana is in the mid-major poll for the seventh straight week and garnered 92 points in this week's rankings.
Gordon Recognized by College Sports Madness: This week, junior guard Jaylyn Gordon was named College Sports Madness Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. In two games last week, she averaged a team-high 19.5 points to go with 5.5 rebounds. The Edgard, La., native dished out a team-high 10 assists and added a team-best four steals on the defensive end of the floor. She shot 41.7% (15-of-36) from the floor. It is the second time this season she has won the weekly honor.Â
Assists for Gordon: Junior guard Jaylyn Gordon is currently fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in assists with 61, an average of 3.8 per game. She is 15 helpers away from matching her career high of 76, which she reached last season.Â
First Half Success: The Cajuns have gone into halftime leading in 12 of the 16 games they've played this season. They have won all 12 games in which they held a lead at the intermission.Â
Cooper's Block Party: Louisiana freshman center Breionne Cooper owns a team-high 11 blocked shots this season. The 11 blocks are the most for a Cajun in a single season since 2012-13 (Keke Veal, Jasmin Mills, Robbie Brown each had 10 that season).Â
Veal Continues Points Chase: Cajuns senior guard Keke Veal brings 1,303 career points into the Troy game this Saturday. She is 55 points away from tying Teena Cooper (1,358) for third place in the Cajuns record books.Â
Gordon 3-Point Watch: Junior guard Jaylyn Gordon enters Saturday's game with 144 career three-point field goals made, currently sixth-most in Cajuns history. She needs seven more treys to pass current teammate Sylvana Okde (150) for fifth place in UL history.Â
Defense, Defense, Defense: In 16 overall regular season games, the Cajuns defense is holding opponents to a conference-low 55.2 points per game. In their seven conference games, they are limiting the opposition to a conference-low 55.7 points per contest.Â
Conference Numbers: The Cajuns are outscoring conference opponents, 454-390 through seven games this season. In all four quarters, the Cajuns own a positive scoring margin over the opponents, including a 123-97 advantage in the fourth quarter.Â
What's Next? The Cajuns host Texas State next Thursday, Jan. 28 for a 5 p.m. tip-off at the Cajundome.Â
