Cajuns Open Season Friday In Beaumont Against Lamar

Friday, November 14, 2014 • 7 p.m. • Montagne Center (10,080) – Beaumont, Texas
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LAFAYETTE, La. – After two home exhibition games this past week, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team is prepared to open the 2014-15 regular season Friday as the squad travels to Beaumont, Texas, to take on Lamar in a 7 p.m. game at the Montagne Center.

"I love playing at Lamar," said head coach Garry Brodhead. "I love their facility. I was in the Southland (Conference) for five years and we (McNeese State) always had pretty good luck over there so I'm hoping it carries over here to UL. Lamar has always had a good program, and we were able to go there and compete. They always have good crowds so I'm excited about going over there. It's good to be at home, but it's not a bad road trip."

Last Time Out
- Freshman forward Simone Fields led the Cajuns with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting to help Louisiana to a 67-47 win over Spring Hill College on Monday night in the team's final exhibition game
- Sophomore guard Jaylyn Gordon came off the bench to finish with 12 points while senior guard Robbie Brown added eight points and eight boards
- Louisiana shot 47 percent while holding Spring Hill to just 38 percent from the floor
- The Cajuns held an advantage in points in the paint (42-12), points off turnovers (30-9) and steals (11-1)

Scouting the Lady Cardinals
- Lamar returns six letterwinners including three starters for the 2014-15 season
- The Lady Cardinals were picked to finish third in the Southland Conference by the league's head coaches
- Lamar is coming off an 18-13 season where they captured a share of the Southland Conference regular season title and made an appearance in the WNIT, eventually losing to Southern Miss in the first round
- The Lady Cardinals return two of their top four scorers from the 2013-14 season in graduate forward Dominique Edwards (14.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and senior guard Shauna Long (10.5 ppg)

A Look at the Series
- Lamar holds a 40-20 lead in the all-time series
- The Lady Cardinals have won the past two meetings, including a 68-60 victory last season at the Cajundome
- Louisiana is 8-19 against Lamar on the road
- The Cajuns have won their last two road contests against the Lady Cardinals, a 68-44 victory on Jan. 6, 2004, and a 79-72 win back on Feb. 23, 1998

Up Next
- Following its season opener vs. Lamar, the Cajuns will return to the Cajundome, Tuesday, Nov. 18 to host Xavier (La.) at 7 p.m.

Returning for the Cajuns
- Louisiana returns eight letterwinners and four starters from the 2013-14 season
- Redshirt junior guard/forward Brooklyn Arceneaux returns this season as the Cajuns' leading scorer, earning All-Sun Belt Third Team honors after averaging 10.5 points and a team-high 5.2 boards a game a season ago. Arceneaux will sit out the first half of the season to recover from ACL surgery
- The return of junior guards Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge will also help Louisiana on the offensive and defensive end
- Veal led the Cajuns with 11.9 points, 3.1 steals and 2.5 assists per game through the first 13 games of the season before she suffered a season-ending injury
- In 2013-14, Wilridge led the Cajuns with 29.0 minutes per game in 22 appearances and 17 starts. In her time on the floor, Wilridge averaged 9.0 points, a team-high 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game, which ranked eighth in the SBC
- Also returning for the Cajuns are senior Robbie Brown (4.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg), juniors Jasmin Mills (4.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Adrienne Prejean (3.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and sophomores Gabby Alexander (5.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Jaylyn Gordon (9.0 ppg, 2.0 apg)

Welcome to Cajun Country
- With the addition to its eight returners, Louisiana also brings in a talented group of seven newcomers to the 2014-15 roster
- Joining the Cajuns this season are Jodi Quinn (St. Martinville), T'Erika Bell (Monroe), Simone Fields (San Antonio, Texas), Alexis Nezianya (Carrollton, Texas), Cienna Rodriguez (Cypress, Texas), Angel Sidney (Fort Worth, Texas) and D'Rae Tullock (Middleton, Idaho)

Cajuns Picked Sixth in the Sun Belt
- After tying for seventh in the Sun Belt Conference a season ago, the league's 11 head coaches tabbed the Cajuns sixth with 64 points in the SBC Preseason Poll
- Arkansas State was picked first with 118 points, receiving nine of the 11 first-place votes, while UALR was a close second with 112 points and two first-place votes
- Texas State (93), Georgia State (82) and Troy (70) rounded out the top five in the poll

Veal, Wilridge Named All-SBC Preseason
- Junior guards Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge were selected to the All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team, voted on by the league's head coaches
- Veal was named to the second team while Wilridge earned a spot on the third team
- Louisiana was joined by Arkansas State, Georgia State, South Alabama, Texas State and UALR in placing a league-high two players on the preseason team

-- RaginCajuns.com --

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Players Mentioned

Gabby Alexander

Brooklyn Arceneaux

T'Erika Bell

Robbie Brown

Simone Fields

Jaylyn Gordon

Jasmin Mills

Alexis Nezianya

Adrienne Prejean

Jodi Quinn

Cienna Rodriguez

Angel Sidney

D'Rae Tullock

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge