Cajuns Host Xavier In Home Opener Tuesday

Game 2 - Louisiana (1-0, 0-0 SBC) vs. Xavier (La.) (2-3, 0-0 GCAC)
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 • 7 p.m. (CT) • Cajundome (11,550) – Lafayette, La. • Admission – $5 (General)
Live Stats l Live Video l Radio: ESPN 1420
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns • @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana Women's Basketball Home Page l Xavier Women's Basketball Home Page
Louisiana Game Notes

LAFAYETTE, La. – After a dominant 75-55 road victory at Lamar to open the 2014-15 season, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team begins their home slate Tuesday night when the squad hosts Xavier (La.) in 7 p.m. contest at the Cajundome.

Fans that attend Tuesday's game will have the opportunity to be entered into a raffle and compete in a shooting contest to win a car, thanks to one of Louisiana women's basketball's Assist Club supporters, Acadiana Dodge. Fans will be able to sign up for the raffle as they enter the doors before the game, and one fan will be chosen to compete in the shooting contest at halftime.

Gordon Lights Up Lamar
- Sophomore guard Jaylyn Gordon came off the bench to record 22 points, 18 in the second half, to help Louisiana to a season-opening 75-55 victory at Lamar
- Gordon matched career-highs in field goals made (8) and three-pointers made (4)
- Junior guard Keke Veal added 13 points and a team-high five assists, while sophomore guard/forward Gabby Alexander tallied 11 points and a team-best eight boards off the bench

Louisiana in Home Openers
- The Cajuns are 21-22 all-time in home openers, but come into Tuesday's game having won their past two
- Last season, the Cajuns defeated Nebraska-Omaha, 80-68, in the squad's home opener at the Cajundome

Scouting the Gold Nuggets
- Xavier returns nine letterwinners and two starters from last season's 24-10 squad
- In 2013-14, the Gold Nuggets finished second in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and advanced to their fifth-straight NAIA Division National Tournament, finishing No. 19 in the final poll of the season
- Xavier was ranked No. 18 in the 2014-15 NAIA Division I preseason top-25 poll
- The Gold Nuggets are led by senior guard/forward Vinnie Briggs (13.8 ppg), junior guard Whitney Gathright (13.6 ppg) and junior guard/forward Eliqua Brooks (13.2 ppg)
- Now in his 16th season with the Gold Nuggets, head coach Bo Browder has led the squad to 13-straight 20-win seasons and 13 appearances in the NAIA Division I postseason tournament

A Look at the Series
- Louisiana and Xavier are tied 2-2 in a series that dates back to 1980
- The Gold Nuggets won the first two matchups (1980 & 1981) while the Cajuns have been victorious in the previous two (1988 & 2013)
- The Cajuns defeated Xavier 62-54 last season in Lafayette

Up Next
- Louisiana will continue its homestand Saturday, Nov. 22 when the Cajuns welcome in-state foe Louisiana Tech for a noon contest at Earl K. Long Gym

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