Louisiana and Troy Set to Battle on Saturday at Trojan Arena

TROY, Ala. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team puts its newfound winning streak to the test on the road on Saturday, January 14 battling reigning Sun Belt Conference champion Troy in a 4:00 p.m. contest at Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama.

The Ragin' Cajuns (9-8, 3-2 SBC) bring a two-game winning streak in Saturday's road outing following convincing wins over Texas State (W, 71-51) and South Alabama (W, 66-49) by double figures.

Louisiana also seeks to build upon an improved shooting touch that has surfaced in the win streak, shooting right at 47 percent in back-to-back outings.

Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Kamarri Darrington (pxp) providing the commentary. Fans in the Acadiana region can listen to call of the game by Ian Auzenne on 103.3 FM The Goat and 1420 AM and worldwide on the Varsity Network. Live stats will be provided by CajunStats.com.

The Ragin' Cajuns and Trojans (9-7, 4-1 SBC) are set up for the first of two bouts on the hardwood this season. Troy returns the visit on February 4 at the Cajundome.

It'll be the usual imposing of wills when the two teams hit the court at Trojan Arena: Louisiana using its defense to dictate the flow of the game and Troy attempting to push the tempo with its high-scoring offense. The Ragin' Cajuns lead the Sun Belt in scoring defense both overall (56.2) and in conference play (50.6) while the Trojans are at the top in scoring offense ranking second both overall (81.9) and in conference play (82.0).

Louisiana has shown the ability to beat Troy at its own game, claiming a high-scoring 92-83 win over the visiting Trojans last January at the Cajundome.

Rebounding will be critical factor with Troy averaging 50-plus boards per game. The Ragin' Cajuns enter the game coming off their best two rebounding efforts of the season, outrebounding TXST and USA by a combined 41-24 average.

The Ragin' Cajuns shot 40 percent or higher all four quarters and outscored South Alabama each frame in collecting its second straight victory and moving back above the .500 mark on Thursday (Jan. 12) at the Cajundome.

The middle quarters are where Louisiana has put away the opposition in the winning streak. UL limited Texas State to 4-of-22 shooting and 18 total points over the second and third quarters, then against USA shot 50 percent (15-of-30) and held the Jags to 35 percent (8-of-23) in outscoring them 37-22.

For the season, Tamera Johnson paces the Ragin' Cajuns in scoring (10.8) and rebounding (6.6). The Lafayette native has generated nine double-digit scoring performances and three double-doubles. Lanay Wheaton, who turned in back-to-back 20-plus point games right before the Christmas break and opened SBC play with a game-high 16 vs. Georgia State, is the team's second-leading scorer (10.3).

Wheaton (18 points, 7-of-14 FG) and Johnson (16 points, 8-of-13 FG) took charge against South Alabama, combining for 15 field goal makes totaling 34 points. Their combined 15-of-27 shooting (55.6%) provided the heavy lifting in the Ragin' Cajuns' 47-percent effort as a team.

The Ragin' Cajuns defense, which ranks Top 25 nationally and second in the Sun Belt forcing 20.9 turnovers per game, is led by Wheaton's 33 steals with Johnson right behind at 29 steals. Destiny Rice moved into the team lead in assists (32) following her solid SBC-opening weekend performance (11 assists).

Troy, much like Louisiana, is riding an upward swing and enters Saturday's game with a season-best, four-game winning streak which was reached with Thursday's 92-74 win over ULM at Trojan Arena.

The Trojans have dominated during their four-game streak winning by an average of 18.3 points behind 17.3 points per game from Makayia Hallmon, who scored a game-high 21 points against ULM. Season-wise, Nia Daniel leads the squad in scoring (13.9) while the rebounding efforts have been led Ja'Mia Hollings and Tai'Sheka Porchia who have each surpassed 100 rebounds.

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (9-8, 3-2 SBC) at TROY (9-7, 4-1 SBC)
Date / Time: Saturday, January 14, 2023 / 4:00 p.m. (CST)
Site: Troy, Ala.
Arena: Trojan Arena (5,200)

RADIO/TV
Radio: The GOAT 103.3 FM / 1420 AM
Talent: Ian Auzenne (PxP)
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Kamarri Darrington (PxP)

LIVE STATS/SOCIAL MEDIA
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsWBB | #GeauxCajuns

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Troy leads, 16-12
In Troy: Troy leads, 9-2
Streak: Louisiana +1
Last Meeting: UL 92-83, 1/13/22 (Lafayette, La.)
Last Time in Troy: UL 79-73, 1/11/20 (Troy, Ala.)
Noteworthy: Meeting for the 29th time overall … all meetings have occurred since Troy joined the Sun Belt Conference in the 2005-06 season … first matchup in Trojan Arena since the 2019-20 campaign … in Louisiana's last visit to Troy in January 2020, the Ragin' Cajuns captured a 79-73 win snapping a nine-game losing streak in Trojans territory … Trojans hold a 13-11 advantage in SBC regular season games … Louisiana scored its series-high of 92 points in the lone meeting of the 2021-22 season, held at the Cajundome (W, 92-83) … Ragin' Cajuns are in search of their first back-to-back wins over the Trojans since a January 2016 victory followed up a win in the 2015 SBC Tournament quarterfinals … programs have met four times in the Sun Belt Tournament including a matchup in the championship game in 2017.

FIVE-PLUS THINGS TO KNOW

Sun Belt Powers Collide: Saturday's contest at Trojan Arena features the last two regular season champions in the Sun Belt Conference: Louisiana (2020-21) and Troy (2021-22).
Why Not Us?: The 2022-23 Ragin' Cajuns squad has an opportunity to provide the program with something not done before – a second straight win at Trojan Arena and in Troy, Alabama. Before the 79-73 win in the last visit in January 2020, Louisiana had lost nine straight games in Troy.
Controlling the Pace: On last week's road trip, Louisiana's defense stymied Southern Miss and Texas State, two teams averaging 60-plus points, to nearly 20 points below their respective averages. The Ragin' Cajuns also bottled up two of the SBC's top scorers in USM's Domonique Davis and TXST's Da'Nasia Hood, holding the pair of 19-plus point per game scorers to five and four points, respectively.
It's an Art: Louisiana ranks Top 25 nationally, and a close second in the Sun Belt Conference, in turnovers forced per game (20.9).
Turning 'Em Over: Ten (10) times – and in six of the last nine games – the Ragin' Cajuns have forced the opposition into 20-plus turnovers. Earlier this season, Louisiana turned over then-No. 3 Texas (Nov. 11) 25 times and most recently forced a season-high 37 turnovers from LSU-Alexandria (Dec. 19).
Sun Belt Success Story: Dating back to the 2020-21 season in which Louisiana won the regular season championship, the program has won 25 of its last 32 Sun Belt Conference games.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns return to the Cajundome for a weekend homestand hosting Old Dominion on Thursday, January 19 and Arkansas State on Saturday, January 21.

The first-ever Sun Belt meeting with ODU on Thursday tips at 6:00 p.m. and is the team's Blackout Game. Saturday's 2:00 p.m. contest with ASU serves as Louisiana's Alumni Game.

FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsWBB), Facebook (/RaginCajunsWBB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsWBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Women's Basketball.

Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

- www.RaginCajuns.com -

Louisiana and Troy Set to Battle on Saturday at Trojan Arena

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Players Mentioned

Makayia Hallmon

Tamera Johnson

Destiny Rice

Lanay Wheaton

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Louisiana and Troy Set to Battle on Saturday at Trojan Arena

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Makayia Hallmon

Tamera Johnson

Destiny Rice

Lanay Wheaton

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