Ragin’ Cajuns and Mountaineers Face Off in Boone

BOONE, N.C. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team enters the second half of Sun Belt Conference play on Thursday, January 30 when the squad meets App State at 5:30 p.m. (CST) in the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, North Carolina.

It's also the start of a two-game set in the Carolinas against SBC eastern region foes, which will wrap up on Saturday at Coastal Carolina.

The Ragin' Cajuns (9-9, 5-4 SBC) arrive in Boone looking to build on the momentum gained from last Saturday's commanding 70-53 win over Troy. UL's defense limited Troy to 31 percent shooting, 26 points below its scoring average and forced 26 turnovers.

App State (11-8, 7-2 SBC) presently sits in a spot the Cajuns are eyeing – Top 4 in the SBC standings. The Mountaineers are continuing their four-game homestand which started last week with wins over Old Dominion (Jan. 23) and Georgia Southern (Jan. 25).

Thursday's contest matches the top field goal percentage offense (App State, 43.5%) in SBC play against the No. 4-rated field goal percentage defense (UL, 38.9%) in SBC play.

Erica Lafayette has paced the Cajuns in SBC play with 17.9 points per game. App State has three players averaging double figures in conference play, led by Zada Porter's 13.4 points per game.

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (9-9, 5-4 SBC) at APP STATE (11-8, 7-2 SBC)
Date/Time: Thursday, January 30, 2025 / 5:30 p.m. (CT)
Site: Boone, N.C.
Arena: Holmes Convocation Center (8,325)

Radio: The GOAT 103.3 FM/1420 AM
Talent: Dawson Eiserloh

TV: ESPN+
Talent: Corey Hodges (pxp), Bob Dillner (analyst)

Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Social Updates: @RaginCajunsWBB | #GeauxCajuns

Series Record: Louisiana leads leads, 7-6
In Boone: App State leads, 4-3
Streak: APP, +2

BOUNCE PASSES

Louisiana starts the second half of Sun Belt play when its Carolinas road trip begins Thursday night at App State. It's the Cajuns' first App State-Coastal road trip since the 2019-20 season (Feb. 27-29, 2020).
UL is opening its last stretch of games against the SBC's eastern half. The stretch of SBC eastern foes closes when Louisiana returns to the Cajundome on February 5 to meet Marshall.
The Cajuns seek to lessen the two-game gap between them and the Mountaineers in the SBC standings and inch closer back to the coveted Top 4 slot in the ledger.
UL looks to break a two-game losing streak to App State and claim a second straight win in Boone for the first time in the series history. The Cajuns' last series win came on Jan. 28, 2023, a 65-51 triumph in Boone.
In snapping a three-game skid on Saturday, Louisiana's defense held Troy to its lowest field goal percentage (30.5%) in five weeks (30.2% at JMU) and created its most turnovers committed since December 1.
Free throws (19-of-23) keyed the crucial win over Troy, the Cajuns now shooting 75.3% in conference play.
With her career-high 20 points vs. Troy, Ashlyn Jones is the fourth (Benedith, Lafayette, Robinson) to reach the mark.
The Cajuns' four SBC losses have come to teams that have a combined 24-3 conference mark (JMU, Troy, ASU).
Louisiana is expected to have only eight players available, but has had success shorthanded before. The Cajuns have defeated Rice and Georgia Southern in December and most recently, Troy, with only eight players available.
Erica Lafayette has scored double digits in 12 straight games (since Dec. 7 vs. Rice), averaging 17.1 points per game during the stretch. She's taken over the team lead in scoring at 14.4 points per game.
Erica Lafayette scored at least 17 points each of the first five SBC games, pacing her current 17.9 average in conference play. She ranks No. 2 and trails only JMU's Peyton McDaniel (18.4) for the scoring lead in SBC play.
The 4-1 start to SBC play was the best for Louisiana since the 2020-21 regular season championship campaign.
UL scored 60-plus points the first seven SBC games. The Cajuns are averaging 67.7 ppg in conference play.
UL has scored 25-plus off turnovers three times in SBC play and is averaging 21.0 ppg off turnovers in SBC play.
The Ragin' Cajuns rank Top 25 nationally in turnovers forced (21.9), turning the opposition over 20-plus times in 14 of 18 games, including forcing No. 4 LSU into a season-high tying 21 turnovers and Auburn into 25 miscues.
UL held its first five foes to 60 or below and has yielded 70-plus only twice (No. 4 LSU, Troy).
UL led the SBC in scoring defense – and ranked Top 60 nationally – holding foes below 60 ppg the last two seasons.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana completes its Carolinas road trip by traveling to Conway, South Carolina for a matchup with Coastal Carolina on Saturday, February 1. Tip-off time is set for 12:00 p.m. (CST) from the HTC Center.

Live coverage is available on ESPN+, the Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network (The Goat 103.3 FM/1420 AM and Varsity Sports app) and CajunStats.com.

The Ragin' Cajuns will make their first appearance inside the HTC Center on Coastal's campus since February 2020. The last two scheduled meetings that were played occurred at the Cajundome.

The CCU contest is the last game before UL opens a four-game homestand at the Cajundome which keeps the squad at home through February 15.

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 -

Ragin’ Cajuns and Mountaineers Face Off in Boone

Players Mentioned

Ashlyn Jones

Erica Lafayette

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Ragin’ Cajuns and Mountaineers Face Off in Boone

Players Mentioned

Ashlyn Jones

Erica Lafayette

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