Ragin' Cajuns Travel To New Orleans To Tangle With Tulane

Game 11
Louisiana (5-5) vs. Tulane (7-1)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012
Location: New Orleans, La.
Site: Devlin Fieldhouse
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Series History: Wednesday's game marks the 28th time Louisiana and Tulane will meet on the hardwood and the Green Wave hold a commanding 22-5 lead in the all-time series.

Setting the Scene
The Louisiana women's basketball team will look to improve to 5-1 vs. Louisiana opponents when the Ragin' Cajuns travel to New Orleans on Wednesday, Dec. 19, to take on Tulane at Devlin Fieldhouse. Tipoff is slated for 11:00 a.m. Louisiana is 4-1 against state opponents already this year, having defeated Southern 71-69 on Nov. 9, LSU-Shreveport 83-42 on Nov. 12, Southern-New Orleans 71-49 on Nov. 28 and New Orleans 68-41 on Dec. 13. The lone loss against an in-state opponent was by Nicholls State 71-62 on Nov. 19. The Ragin' Cajuns head to New Orleans 5-5 on the year and looking to rebound after UC Riverside handed the squad a 55-37 setback on Monday, Dec. 17.

Previewing Louisiana
UL returns just four players from a year ago, opening the season with seven newcomers (five freshmen and two junior college transfers). Five Cajuns average double-digits in scoring and leading the way is freshman guard Sylvana Okde's 12.6 points per game. Fellow freshman Keke Veal is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.1 points to go along with 4.8 rebounds. Ashley Benjamin averages 10.3 points and is second on the team in rebounding with 5.8 per game. Kia Wilridge contributes 9.6 points and her 3.4 steals per game is tied for 9th in the nation. Byronesha Santiago chips in 9.6 points per game and 8.3 rebounds to lead the team.

The Opposition
The Green Wave enter the contest against the Ragin' Cajuns riding a 15-game winning streak against state foes dating back to midway through the 2010-11 season. The last time these two teams met, Tulane beat the Cajuns, 75-40 on Dec. 22, 2011. Tulane enters the game 7-1 on the year and seeks to build on the momentum of a 66-64 overtime win at LSU on Dec. 9. Tulane's only loss of the season is to Auburn, who defeated the Green Wave 70-65 on Nov. 28. As a team, the Green Wave are averaging 68.1 points, 43.1 rebounds, 17.0 assists, 9.4 steals and 4.1 blocks per game. Whitney Bibbins leads the Tulane offense with 10.4 points per game while Janique Kautsky, Danielle Blagg and and Olivia Grayson follow with respective scoring averages of 9.9, 9.3 and 9.1. Tiffany Dale leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per outing and 11 blocked shots. Jamie Kaplan has a team-best 38 assists.

Ten Games, Nine Lineups
Through 10 games, Louisiana's head coach Garry Brodhead has supplied nine different starting lineups. The only consistency in the lineup through the opening 10 games has been freshman guards Kia Wilridge, Sylvana Okde and junior Ashley Benjamin who have started nine of the ten contests.

Game Day Story Lines
• The Cajuns end a stretch of four non-conference games when they face Tulane on Wednesday. Louisiana will look to improve to 6-3 against non-conference foes this season.
• Four UL players average double-digits in scoring with freshman guard Sylvana Okde leading the way, averaging 12.6 points, to go along with 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
• Keke Veal is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.1 points and 4.8 rebounds.
• Kia Wilridge averages 9.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and leads the team in steals with 34 in 10 games.
• Ashley Benjamin and Byronesha Santiago average 10.3 and 9.6 points, respectively. Santiago leads the team in rebounding with 8.3 per contest.
• UL has outscored opponents, 631-606. The Cajuns average 63.1 ppg while holding the opposition to 60.6.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are shooting .304 from behind the arc (42-138) which ranks third in the Sun Belt and .578 from the charity stripe (111-192).
• UL won convincingly, 83-42, against LSU-Shreveport on Nov. 12 and earned their first 2-0 start since the 2004-05 season.
• The Cajuns are 4-2 at Earl K. Long Gym and 1-3 on the road.
• The 2010-11 season is the last time the Cajuns recorded a winning non-conference record, going 7-6.

Cajuns in the Sun Belt
• The Cajuns average a hefty 13.1 steals per game, which leads the league and is tied for 20th in the nation.
• Sylvana Okde leads the Sun Belt averaging 2.8 treys per game this season and has already knocked down 28.
• Fellow freshman Kia Wilridge is second in the SBC with 3.4 steals per game and fifth in assists (3.6).
• Byronesha Santiago's 8.3 rebounds per contest ranks third in the Sun Belt.
• UL is leading the league with 131 steals while only having the ball stolen from them 72 times.
• The Cajuns rank first in offensive rebounds, averaging 19.9. As a result, the Cajuns have generated 152-second chance points.
• On the defensive end, the Cajuns average 20.1 rebounds, which ranks last.

Turning Up the D
• Thus far this season, the Cajuns defense has forced the opposing teams into 18.5 turnovers per game while UL averages 23.9, giving the squad a -5.4 turnover margin.
• 219 of the 631 points scored this season have been points off turnovers.
• The Cajuns recorded a season high of 36 points off turnovers against New Orleans.
• UL averages 40.0 rebounds per game, while the opposition is averaging 36.0
• Louisiana forced 19.4 turnovers per game last season including a -1.9-turnover margin for a 0.5-assist/turnover ratio.
• UL had a total of 272 steals and averaged 9.1 per game last year.

Homegrown Talent
• Cajuns roster features eight players who hail from the state of Louisiana.
• To go a step further, five athletes prepped in the greater Lafayette area.

Reunited and It Feels So Good
• For the first time since the 2010-11 academic year, sophomores Brooklyn Arceneaux and Robbie Brown and freshmen Kia Wilridge and Keke Veal are teammates.
• The quartet powered local St. Thomas More High to a state championship in 2011.
• Last season, Wilridge and Veal carried on the championship caliber effort, winning another state title in 2012.
• Wilridge and Veal have contributed a combined 95 of 283 points in the first four games of the season.

Returning Home
• Three of the Cajuns four coaches are alums of the University of Louisiana, head coach Garry Brodhead (1980), Sallie Guillory (2005), and Deacon Jones (1999).
• For Brodhead, it represents a return to the city where many of his coaching successes occurred, including his stint at Teurlings Catholic High School where he posted a 297-78 record from 1998-2007.

Up Next For Louisiana
• The Ragin' Cajuns return to Sun Belt Conference action traveling to Jonesboro, Ark. on Saturday, Dec. 22 to face Arkansas State at 1:05 p.m. at the Convocation Center on the ASU campus.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Ragin' Cajuns Travel To New Orleans To Tangle With Tulane

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