Experienced @RaginCajunsWBB Freshman Andrea Cournoyer Is No Stranger To A Challenge

LAFAYETTE – 5,500 career points.

Read that previous sentence again.

That's what Louisiana Women's Basketball freshman Andrea Cournoyer scored over her long high school career at Merryville High School in Merryville, Louisiana.

But she did not get to that number overnight, or by accident. Cournoyer started playing at the varsity level when she entered the sixth grade, cracking the starting lineup during that season and not giving her spot back until she graduated seven years later.

That experience allowed her to grow her game faster, putting her up against young women who were knocking on the collegiate door while she was just getting into junior high.

Cournoyer responded to the challenge placed in front of her by scoring the basketball, a lot.

"Playing high school varsity basketball starting in sixth grade defiantly helped me mature a lot faster than my peers," said Cournoyer. "My junior high years most kids don't even touch the floor, so going into my freshman year it was equivalent to most player's senior year since I had three years of varsity experience already."

Having to go up against older and bigger players at a young age, gave Cournoyer experience that she now carries into her career at Louisiana. And it helped prepare her for the challenges of taking yet another step up, facing Division I competition and the physicality that comes with collegiate basketball.

"I can draw from my experiences in high school best I can, but I do know that here at Louisiana I'll be playing on a different level," said Cournoyer. "I'm a bit smaller then some of the players in the Sun Belt Conference, so I know that I'm a bit behind in physical aspect."

Cournoyer immediately made an impact, when she started playing in the sixth grade, as she averaged roughly 28 points per game during her three years she was technically in junior high school. She was a key part of the Merryville Panthers winning six straight 4-1A District Championships starting in 2013 (her seventh-grade year) and she was named 1A First-Team All-State five times and during her sophomore and junior seasons she was named the State 1A MVP.

She upped her production to over 30 points per game during her four years in high school and eventually made it to 5,000 career points this past January. When she reached that milestone, she became only the second player in Louisiana Girl's Basketball history to reach that mark and the eighth player in the country to ever crack 5,000.

But reaching 5,000 points wasn't a goal that Cournoyer set out to hit when she started, "I never really set the goal at the start of my career to score over 5,000 points," said Cournoyer. "But during the middle of my junior year my dad brought it up to me that I could get to 5,000 career points if I kept going the way that I was."

Cournoyer's talent caught the eye of Louisiana head coach Garry Brodhead early on and he knew that she was someone that could come to Louisiana and become a key cog in the program that he has built. "I was lucky enough to see her play in the fifth grade when she was in AAU and I saw the athleticism that she had," said Brodhead. "And then when I saw her play in high school against older kids it didn't seem to bother her at all.

"I had a feeling that she could be a fit for what we're trying to do. We really like to recruit combo guards at Louisiana, since that's what we've had success with in the past, and I felt that she fits the mold and what myself and the coaching staff are looking for."

Cournoyer has proven she can score, while doing it with a unique flair. Wearing sports goggles that look like they dropped through a time warp from the 1980's.

"I decided to wear sports goggles during my freshman year when I realized that I should do something about my sight," said Cournoyer. "I could've changed and gone to contacts during my junior or senior year, but at that point it was a part of my game, and people knew me as the girl with the goggles, and it really became my signature."

But where the girl with the goggles will have to draw from her experience is on the defensive end and the overall physicality of Division I basketball that she will face. But Cournoyer's been there before, "when I started in sixth grade, playing at the varsity level, I faced the same situation, of being smaller then my competition, that I'll be facing at Louisiana, it's just at a higher level here," said Cournoyer.

"Coach Brodhead's philosophy of defense is different than what I'm used to and have been exposed to," said Cournoyer. "One of the biggest things I'm getting used to is the communication because that plays a big part in how well the defense will operate."

Brodhead is one person who isn't worried about Cournoyer's adjustment to Louisiana's style of defense or the physicality of Division I basketball. "Because Andrea's such a hard worker and a smart kid I know that once she learns the defense she'll fit right in," said Brodhead.

It will not be easy for Cournoyer by any means, as any freshman student-athlete will say, but stepping up against bigger and sometimes older competition is something that Cournoyer has been doing for years now.

5,500 career points, seven years of varsity high school basketball and a stylish pair of sports goggles have gotten Cournoyer ready take the next step in her career, playing Division I college basketball.

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Experienced @RaginCajunsWBB Freshman Andrea Cournoyer Is No Stranger To A Challenge

Players Mentioned

Andrea Cournoyer

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