Louisiana Opens Series of Road Games Thursday in Norfolk

NORFOLK, Va. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team kicks off the new year with a stretch of four consecutive road games that begins on Thursday, January 4 at the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia with a 5:30 p.m. (CST) contest against Old Dominion.

Louisiana (4-6, 0-1 SBC) steps outside the state of Louisiana for the first time since November 9 (at Auburn) and plays its first road game since December 10 (at LSU).

The Cajuns seek to rebound from a 69-56 conference-opening loss to App State last Saturday, playing in their SBC road opener. The Monarchs (9-2, 1-0 SBC) are playing their SBC home opener and are coming off a 62-56 win on the road at South Alabama in the conference opener last weekend.

Meeting for just the second time ever in both program's histories, which date back to the 1970s, it's the first matchup to be played in Norfolk at Chartway Arena. The Cajuns claimed the initial series and SBC meeting, 61-51, last January at the Cajundome.

Thursday's UL-ODU contest can be viewed on ESPN+ while radio coverage is available in the Acadiana region on The GOAT 103.3 FM and 1420 AM and worldwide on the Varsity Network.

It'll be a matchup to determine which defense prevails. Both the Cajuns and the Monarchs enter the game yielding 60 points or less this season – ODU leads the Sun Belt in scoring defense at 52.4 points per game.

Louisiana regains an important piece to its lineup as leading scorer and leading rebounder Tamera Johnson returns to the court. Johnson missed the last two games with a nose injury suffered vs. North Texas (Dec. 17).

Cajuns guard Lanay Wheaton returns to Norfolk for the first time since she began her collegiate career in the 2020-21 season with ODU. Last season, she scored a game-high 20 points in the win over the Monarchs.

Johnson at 13.3 points per game and Brandi Williams at 12.0 points per game lead the Cajuns offense. Johnson is the top rebounder with 65 total at a rate of 8.1 per game, while Williams has already knocked down 19 triples.

Third-year starting point guard Destiny Rice is averaging nine-plus points per game on 46 percent shooting and Utah State transfer Tamiah Robinson leads with 23 assists and is second in rebounds (39).

Ranked 16th in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, ODU is paced by on offense by En'Dya Buford with 10.9 points per game. Buford and Mimi McCollister (5.2 ppg) have made 26 triples between the two of them and Simone Cunningham (5.0 ppg) is the Monarchs' top rebounder with 7.0 boards per outing. On defense, Kaye Clark is averaging 3.5 steals per game, good for seventh in the nation.

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (4-6, 0-1 SBC) at OLD DOMINION (9-2, 1-0 SBC)
Date / Time: Thursday, January 4, 2024 / 5:30 p.m. (CST)
Site: Norfolk, Va.
Arena: Chartway Arena (8,600)

RADIO/TV
Radio: The GOAT 103.3 FM/1420 AM
Talent: Dawson Eiserloh (PxP)
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Chip Tarkenton (PxP), Kim Aston (analyst)

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

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Louisiana leads, 1-0
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 1-0
In Norfolk, Va.: First Meeting
At Neutral Sites: –
Streak: Louisiana, +1
Last Meeting: Louisiana, 61-51 (1/19/23 at Lafayette, La.)

Series Notables
- Just the second-ever matchup between the two programs whose histories date back to the 1970s.
- Cajuns first visit to Norfolk in program history.
- Series was initiated after ODU rejoined the Sun Belt Conference in July 2022 (previously a member from 1982-83 to 1990-91).
- Cajuns won the inaugural matchup with the Monarchs, claiming a 61-51 victory last January at the Cajundome.
- For Louisiana, it's the first time the Sun Belt road opener is also a first appearance in a venue.
- First time UL faces ODU in a conference road opener; first time ODU meets UL in a conference home opener.

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Garry Brodhead (Louisiana, 1980)
Record at Louisiana: 189-157 (12th season), Career Record: Same

OLD DOMINION
Head Coach: DeLisha Milton-Jones (Florida, 1997)
Record at Old Dominion: 68-35 (fourth season), Career Record: 100-67 (sixth season)

STORY LINES
• The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team opens its longest road stretch to date, playing the first of four straight road games to start the new year on Thursday, January 4 at Old Dominion.
• Prior to the four-game trek ahead of themselves, the Cajuns had played 11 of the 12 contests (including exhibitions) held before New Year's Day within the state's borders.
• The Cajuns play outside the state of Louisiana for the first time since November 9 at Auburn.
• Coming off a four-game homestand, UL plays a road game for the first time since December 10 at LSU.
• Louisiana is regaining the services of leading scorer and leading rebounder Tamera Johnson, who missed the previous two games with a nose injury suffered in the North Texas contest (Dec. 17).
• Similar styles are set to clash: both the Cajuns and Monarchs lean on their defense for success, both squads allowing 60 points or less per game.
• The Ragin' Cajuns make their first-ever appearance in Norfolk and at Chartway Arena.
• 2022-23 All-Sun Belt performer Lanay Wheaton returns to where her collegiate career began – she was a member of ODU's 2020-21 team.

QUICK HITS
• Louisiana, a member since the 1991-92 season, is currently in its 33rd season of competition within the Sun Belt Conference.
• UL produced a 101-94 record in Sun Belt play over the first 11 seasons of the Garry Brodhead era.
• Tamera Johnson scored double digits the first seven games, leading her to a team-best 13.3 points average.
• Brandi Williams has converted 58 percent of her field goal makes from three-point range (19 of 33 total FGM).
• Tamera Johnson and Brandi Williams are fueling the Cajuns' efforts, averaging a combined 25.3 points.
• Paced by five players who contributed at least four points, UL produced 26 bench points in the SBC opener.
• The 18-point third quarter vs. App State marked UL's best second half start since the season opener (Nov. 6).
• Lanay Wheaton was selected as a second team member on the 2023-24 Preseason All-Sun Belt team – her second straight preseason nod.
• Louisiana, three games away from a title last season, was picked sixth (6th) in the Sun Belt coaches poll.
• UL has received an added boost on offense with the return of 1,000-point career scorer, and three-point threat, Brandi Williams (missed all but four games the past two seasons with injury).
• Third-year starter Destiny Rice tallied 50-plus assists and 200-plus points the previous two seasons.
• Head coach Garry Brodhead, the lone coach in program history to reach 100 wins, is presently 11 wins away from recording his 200th win at Louisiana.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns close out the first leg of their new year-opening, four-game road trip on Saturday, January 6 taking on James Madison in a 12:00 p.m. (CST) contest at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The contest marks a return visit for Louisiana to Harrisonburg, having matched up with JMU last February at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in the then first-ever SBC contest between the two programs.

Live video coverage is available on ESPN+ while the game can be heard in the Acadiana region on The GOAT 103.3 FM and 1420 AM and worldwide on the Varsity Network.

The JMU outing will be followed by the back half of the road trip which takes the Cajuns to Troy and Arkansas State from January 10-13.

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 Opens Series of Road Games Thursday in Norfolk

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Players Mentioned

Tamera Johnson

Destiny Rice

Tamiah Robinson

Lanay Wheaton

Brandi Williams

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