Cajuns Open Sun Belt Championships against WKU

Game 30 | Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (14-15, 7-11) vs. WKU Lady Toppers (21-8, 13-5)
Wenesday, March 12, 2014 • 6:00 p.m. • New Orleans Lakefront Arena • New Orleans, La.

Video: www.SunBeltSports.org
Radio: ESPN 1420 (Steve Peloquin)
Live Stats: www.SunBeltSports.org

Game Day Story Lines

• The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team will open up it's 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championships play when it takes on the WKU Lady Toppers at 6 p.m. at the New Orleans Lakefront Arena.

• The Lady Toppers swept the season series, and are currently riding a 10-game winning streak over the Ragin' Cajuns. WKU defeated the Cajuns, 68-62, in Lafayette, and, 80-71, in Bowling Green this season. Sophomore Brooklyn Arceneaux scored 13 and 16 points, in two games against the Lady Toppers, averaging 14.5 points per game against them this season.

• This is the second season in a row that the Cajuns and Lady Toppers will tip-off against each other at the conference tournament. Last season, the Lady Toppers defeated the Cajuns 61-57 to advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championships.

• The Cajuns are 5-20 all-time in the Sun Belt Conference Championships and 0-6 when facing Western Kentucky at the conference tournament.

Game Notes

Setting the Scene: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (14-15, 7-11) women's basketball team finished the season by winning four of their final six games to lock up the seventh seed in the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championships and set a date with WKU in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, March 12, at 6 p.m. at the New Orleans Lakefront Arena. Freshman Jaylyn Gordon had a career-game against Arkansas State in the regular season finale, scoring 25 points, the most for any Ragin' Cajuns player all season. Sophomores Sylvana Okde and Brooklyn Arceneaux lead the way for the Cajuns, averaging 10.5 points a piece with Arceneaux grabbing a team-high 5.3 rebounds a game. Arceneaux also leads the team in scoring in conference games, averaging 13.2 points with 6.2 rebounds in 18 conference games.

About the Opponent: Western Kentucky (21-8, 13-5) finished the season on a seven-game winning streak, finishing one game out of first place to grab the second seed in the annual tournament. The Lady Toppers hold the best overall record in the conference, and rebounded from a three-game losing streak to finish the season on their seven game winning streak. Chastity Gooch leads the Lady Toppers with 17.9 points per game, starting all 29 games this season, and grabbed a conference-best 8.8 rebounds a game. She is the only player in the conference to average more than 15.0 rebounds and 8.0 points a game.

All-Conference Arceneaux: After helping lead the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team to their most wins since 2006-07, sophomore Brooklyn Arceneaux was named to the All-Sun Belt third team. Arceneaux led the Cajuns in both points and rebounds in the regular season, averaging 10.5 points with 5.3 rebounds in 28 games, and 13.2 points with 6.2 rebounds in conference games. Arceneaux became the first all-conference selection under Brodhead at Louisiana and the first since Mercedes Johnson was named to the Sun Belt's second team in 2010-11.

Track the Bracket: Despite its losses on the road against the league's top two teams (Arkansas State and WKU), the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns held firm with the No. 7 seed and will face No. 2-seeded WKU on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at New Orleans' Lakefront Arena. The Cajuns will open the eight-team tournament against WKU with the winner facing the winner of No. 3-seeded UALR and ULM in the semifinals on Friday, March 14. Top-seeded Arkansas State will open the tournament on March 12 against Troy with No. 4-seeded Texas State facing No. 5-seeded Georgia State.

Flash Gordon: Freshman guard Jaylyn Gordon scored a career high and team season-best 25 points against Arkansas State, shooting 8-for-19 from the field and 5-for-6 from the line. Her 25 points marked the most points for a Ragin' Cajuns player since Krystal Motley scored 28 against FIU on March 3, 2012. Motley scored 36 against South Alabama earlier that season.

Brodhead Wins No. 14: With the win against South Alabama, head coach Garry Brodhead became the first head coach in school history to win 14 games in his second season at Louisiana. Brodhead passes Ross Cook (13-14 in 1985-86), and J. Kelly Hall (13-15 in 2003-14) for the most wins in their second season. Brodhead now sits sixth all-time with 24 career wins at Louisiana, Hall has the most wins in school history with 86.

Avoiding the Turnover: The Ragin' Cajuns lead the Sun Belt with a +5.07 turnover margin, forcing a league-high 20.6 turnovers per game, while turning the ball over 15.5 times a game, the second least in the conference. Coming into the week, the Cajuns had a +5.32 turnover margin, the 15th best in the NCAA as of March 6.

Century Mark for Okde: Sophomore guard Sylvana Okde hit 74 3-pointers as a freshman in 2012-13 and has made 67 this season, becoming the eighth player in school history to reach 100 career triples. Two players have reached the 200-mark, with Rhonda McCullough (1987-90) holding the school record with 260, and Kim Perrot (1986-90) with 202. Perrot achieved that feat despite the 3-point shot being non-existent in her first season with the Ragin' Cajuns. Okde currently ranks sixth all-time at Louisiana in 3-pointers made with 141 career triples, behind Onna Charles (2005-08) with 143.

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