University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Wednesday, January 2
Boca Raton, Fla.
6:00 PM
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
Florida Atlantic
Cajuns Start the "New Year" on Wednesday in Boca Raton
1/1/2013 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Contact: Matt Hebert
Game Notes
GAME CENTER
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013
Location: Boca Raton, Fla.
Opponent: Florida Atlantic (7-5, 4-0 Sun Belt)
Site: FAU Arena (5,000)
Game Time: 6:00 p.m. (CST)
Live Stats: www.FAUSports.com/scoreboard
Radio: Sports Radio ESPN 1420-AM (Jay Walker)
LOUISIANA-FAU SERIES
The Series: Florida Atlantic leads 6-3
In Boca Raton: Florida Atlantic leads 3-2
Series Streak: Florida Atlantic – won 1
Last Meeting: Florida Atlantic 66, Louisiana 52 (Cajundome // Dec. 31, 2011)
Noteworthy: The Cajuns seek consecutive victories at FAU Arena. Louisiana won the last meeting in the facility on Feb. 12, 2011, 85-78, behind a career-high 29 points from Jasmine Barnes.
LOUISIANA
12-13 Record____________________ 7-6
12-13 Sun Belt Record_____________ 1-3
Last Game______________________ Dec. 29, 2012
vs. UALR (Cajundome) W, 56-54 (2OT)
Head Coach____________________ Garry Brodhead
UL Record____________________ 7-6 (1st Season)
Career Record_________________ Same
Brodhead vs. FAU______________ First Meeting
Web Site_______________________ www.RaginCajuns.com
FLORIDA ATLANTIC
12-13 Record____________________ 7-5
12-13 Sun Belt Record_____________ 4-0
Last Game______________________ Dec. 29, 2012
at UL-Monroe W, 82-72
Head Coach____________________ Kellie Lewis-Jay
UALR Record_________________ 7-5 (1st Season)
Career Record_________________ Same
Lewis-Jay vs. UL_______________ First Meeting
Web Site_______________________ www.FAUSports.com
Game Night Story Lines
>>> After a New Year's Day flight to south Florida, the Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team is scheduled to take the court for the first time in the 2013 calendar year when they face Sun Belt East front-runner Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, Jan. 2 in Boca Raton, Fla. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. (CST) at FAU Arena.
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off the first Sun Belt victory of the Garry Brodhead era, a 56-54 double-overtime triumph over Sun Belt West favorite UALR at the Cajundome.
>>> The UALR victory kept UL above .500 (7-6). UL has been at or above .500 since Dec. 10.
>>> Louisiana seeks back-to-back victories for the third time this season (Nov. 9-12 vs. Southern & LSU-Shreveport/Dec. 10-13 vs. Jackson State & New Orleans).
>>> Louisiana is 4-2 since returning from final exams break (Dec. 2-10).
>>> At the halfway point of the season, the Ragin' Cajuns have already equaled their win total from last season (7-23).
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns lead the Sun Belt and rank 25th nationally in steals per game.
>>> Keep an eye on the turnover battle as both the Ragin' Cajuns (+4.4, 42nd nationally) and Owls (+9.0, 5th nationally) rank Top 50 nationally in turnover margin.
>>> Louisiana has the opportunity to knock off a Sun Belt division leader for the second straight outing (downed SBC West leader UALR last Saturday).
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns are undefeated (6-0) when holding opponents below 40 percent shooting. Held UALR to a season-low 31.7 percent (20-of-63).
>>> Freshman Sylvana Okde ranks Top 15 in the Sun Belt in scoring (12.0 ppg) and leads the league averaging 2.8 three-point makes per outing. Okde buried seven treys in the triumph at Tulane (12/19) and has made at least three in a game six times.
LAST SEASON VS. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
>>> The Owls claimed the lone meeting, posting a 66-52 win at the Cajundome on New Year's Eve 2011.
>>> The game was up for grabs midway through the second half after a Krystal Motley basket cut the Cajuns deficit to 44-42 with 10:53 remaining. The next six minutes doomed the Cajuns, as FAU embarked on a 15-0 scoring run that gave the Owls a 59-42 lead.
>>> A sizeable Owls run to close out the first half gave FAU the lead for good. A Megan Whittaker triple opened a 22-16 UL lead at 7:46. The Owls ended the half with a 17-4 run to take a 33-26 lead going into the break.
BEGINNING THEIR JOURNEY
>>> Wednesday's matchup features the lone two coaches in the Sun Belt Conference making their debut as a collegiate head coach – Louisiana's Garry Brodhead and Florida Atlantic's Kellie Lewis-Jay.
ALREADY PROVING THEM WRONG
>>> The preseason pollsters selected Louisiana last in the Sun Belt West. Only four games into the 2012-13 league schedule, the Cajuns have registered a victory over SBC West favorite and defending league champion UALR.
CHARITY COMES EASIER ON THE ROAD
>>> Louisiana sizzled at the free throw line in their last road trip, shooting a combined 23-of-27 (85.2%) in games at Tulane and Arkansas State.
>>> This season, UL is shooting 64.6% (62-of-96) from the free throw line on the road, compared to the 57.6% (83-of-144) at home.
MISS CLUTCH
>>> Brandi Schambough's last-second triple to pull out the win at Tulane on Dec. 19 brought back memories of a similar finish back on Feb. 20 vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
>>> In the team's 2011-12 non-conference finale, Schambough buried a trey with eight ticks left to pull UL out of a 60-59 deficit and to a win that halted a 17-game losing skid.
SHE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE AGAIN
>>> It was only fitting that Brandi Schambough hit the winning shot in the second overtime with UALR, given the Nebraska-Omaha and Tulane heroics.
>>> Schamough's trey with 27 seconds left gave UL a 56-54 lead in a win that ended a 10-game losing streak to rising SBC West power UALR.
NO HEIGHT, NO PROBLEM
>>> Despite only have one player listed above 6-foot on the roster, the Cajuns have an uncanny ability to rebound the basketball. UL holds a 39.5-38.2 season average over the opposition through 13 games.
>>> UL rebounds on both ends (243 offensive rebounds and 270 defensive rebounds).
SHE HAS THE TOUCH
>>> Freshman Sylvana Okde continues to impress with her abilities from three-point range, continuously hitting treys from 22-23 feet away and in clutch moments.
>>> Okde converted a season-high seven makes from beyond the arc, including one as time expired, to send the Tulane contest into overtime.
>>> The Houston native, whose parents hail from Lebanon, is shooting a sparking 43.4 percent from three-point range (36-of-83).
DOUBLE THE TROUBLE
>>> The freshman duo of Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge are the leading force behind the Ragin' Cajuns forcing the opposition into an average of 23.0 turnovers per game.
>>> Wilridge tops the squad with 39 steals, while Veal is a close second with 29 steals.
TURNING UP THE “D”
>>> Thus far this season, the Cajuns defense has forced the opposing teams into 23.0 turnovers per game while UL averages 18.6, giving the squad a +4.4 turnover margin.
>>> 299 of the 805 points scored have been points off turnovers (37 percent).
SHOW STOPPER
>>> Louisiana's 65-64 overtime win at Tulane brought an end to the Green Wave's 15-game win streak over Louisiana schools. Ten (10) days earlier, Tulane had defeated SEC-foe LSU 66-64 in Baton Rouge.
HOMEGROWN TALENT
>>> Cajuns roster features eight players who hail from the state of Louisiana.
>>> To go a step further, six athletes prepped in the greater Lafayette area (Brandi Schambough – St. Thomas More; Brooklyn Arceneaux – St. Thomas More; Robbie Brown – St. Thomas More; Kia Wilridge – St. Thomas More; Adrienne Prejean – Lafayette HS; Keke Veal – St. Thomas More).
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.
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.
REUNITED, PART 2
>>> Not only were teammates reunited this season, but members of the coaching staff were as well – Jennifer Sullivan rejoining Garry Brodhead and Sallie Guillory.
>>> The trio were assistant coaches at McNeese State during the 2008-09 campaign. Brodhead and Guillory remained at McNeese through 2011-12, while Sullivan spent 2009-10 through 2011-12 at Arkansas State.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
>>> Garry Brodhead became the 12th head coach in UL program history on April 2, 2012. The 1980 UL graduate is a 16-year veteran of women's basketball coaching.
>>> Brodhead replaced Errol Rogers who compiled a 38-113 record over five seasons (2007-08 through 2011-12).
THE LONE RANGER
>>> Reserve guard Brandi Schambough is the lone senior on Garry Brodhead's inaugural squad in Cajun Country.
>>> She's also the most experienced in terms of years in a collegiate uniform having played each of the previous three seasons.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE FOR RAGIN' CAJUNS FANS
>>> There will be five home doubleheaders in the Cajundome this year featuring the Ragin' Cajuns men's and women's basketball teams.
>>> The first doubleheader comes on Dec. 29 when Louisiana hosts UALR. Arkansas State is the guest on Jan. 12 and UL plays UL-Monroe (Feb. 10), Florida Atlantic (Feb. 16) and Western Kentucky (Feb. 23) on successive weekends in February.
LAST TIME OUT: Louisiana 56, UALR 54 (2OT) at Cajundome (Lafayette, La.)
The Ragin' Cajuns held UALR scoreless for the first 13:06 of the second half to take control of the contest, then finished off the upset victory over the Sun Belt West favorites in the second overtime by a count of 56-54 at the Cajundome.
The Cajuns stifling defensive effort staked the squad to a 40-27 lead 11 minutes in to the second half. UALR wouldn't make a field goal until 5:26 remained, but the reigning Sun Belt champions managed to make a late push to force overtime.
The Trojans needed a free throw make with 27 seconds left in the initial overtime to extend the contest another five minutes.
Louisiana trailed 54-53 with 44 seconds left in the second overtime after UALR's Jakeisha Wells scored a basket.
Needing a score to ensure the landmark triumph wouldn't escape them, the Cajuns worked the ball to the Tulane hero – Brandi Schambough. And, the senior sharpshooter delivered once again. Schambough buried a triple with 27 seconds showing for a 56-54 lead.
In the waning seconds she grabbed the rebound off a missed jumper by Taylor Gault and dribbled the length of the floor to allow the clock to expire making the squad victorious in the first Cajundome game of the Garry Brodhead era.
The Cajuns were able to turn the tables on the heavily favored Trojans by holding the visitors to 13.8 percent (4-of-29) in the second stanza after a 56.5 percent showing in the first half.
Louisiana's victory brought an end to UALR's nine-game winning streak and marked the visitor's first defeat since Nov. 15 at Missouri State. Ashley Benjamin powered the Cajuns triumph with her first career double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY (Florida Atlantic leads 6-3, overall; Florida Atlantic leads 3-2 in Boca Raton)
>>> First series meeting took place on Feb. 6, 1993 when the Cajuns completed a non-conference, Florida road trip with a stop in Boca Raton (FAU won 83-45). The following season (1993-94), the Owls returned the visit and the Cajuns posted a 64-55 win at Bourgeouis Hall.
>>> Series would go on hiatus until FAU joined the Sun Belt in 2006-07. Louisiana won the first SBC meeting, a 79-61 triumph in Boca Raton on Jan. 25, 2007, but the Owls have bounced back to win five of the past six meetings.
>>> The Cajuns seek consecutive victories at FAU Arena. Louisiana won the last meeting in the facility on Feb. 12, 2011, 85-78, behind a career-high 29 points from Jasmine Barnes.
>>> FAU holds a 5-2 series edge in the Sun Belt Conference era.
>>> This season, the two programs will meet in a home-and-home series as part of the Sun Belt's new double round-robin format schedule.
NOTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC
>>> Florida Atlantic is off to its best start in Sun Belt play (4-0) since joining the league in 2006-07. The Owls are tied for first place in the East division with Western Kentucky.
>>> FAU ranked seventh among NCAA Division I teams in turnover margin (+9.0) per game through December 16.
The Owls lead the Sun Belt Conference in fewest turnovers committed per game (15.6).
>>> The Owls have had a 20-point scorer in six of the last eight games.
>>> Florida Atlantic has won 14 of its last 17 home games, and posted an 11-2 record inside the FAU Arena last season. FAU went 7-1 in Sun Belt Conference action at home last season.
>>> Nine of the 12 FAU players are in their third year of college basketball, led by seven juniors. The Owls returned three starters and six letter winners from last season's postseason WNIT squad.
>>> The bench has accounted for 42 percent (31.1 ppg) of FAU's 73.7 points in each game this season.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
>>> The Ragin' Cajuns travel south on Interstate 95 on Thursday, Jan. 3 to establish headquarters in Miami in preparation for a Saturday, Jan. 5 contest with FIU at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
>>> The game is the first contest of a doubleheader with the UL-FIU men's squads. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. (CST).
>>> Louisiana is 2-8 all-time in Miami against the Golden Panthers.
>>> FIU has won the last six meetings, overall, including a 74-53 win in the first round of the 2012 Sun Belt Tournament in Hot Springs, Ark., a contest that was the final outing of the Errol Rogers era.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
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