University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
2015-16 Women's Basketball Season Preview
11/13/2015 9:45:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LAFAYETTE -- After a successful 2015 postseason journey, culminating in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament championship, fourth-year head coach Garry Brodhead and his nine returning players, including five starters, are primed for a run at the Sun Belt Conference championship in 2015-16.
Armed with a group that has two Preaseason All-Sun Belt Conference selections in seniors Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge and a number of veteran players, Brodhead feels as good about his team as he has since he took over the program in 2012. Â
"In terms of our maturity, we feel like this is the best team we've had since I've been here," he said. "We have guards that we feel are seasoned and can compete at this level in conference games. For us it's about winning a conference championship and getting to the NCAA Tournament. If we do not accomplish that we will feel like we fell short of our goal."
Complementing the pair of preseason all-conference selections include seniors Jasmin Mills, Adrienne Prejean and Brooklyn Arceneaux. Junior Sylvana Okde is returning from a redshirt season, while fellow junior guard Jaylyn Gordon gained another year of experience under her belt in 2014-15.
"When you return nine kids and five starters, it's a plus because of the experience and the familiarity of our system. We have grown to be consistent in all the phases in our game. It helps the younger kids to understand this is what we do and how we do it. It helps to have those kids behind you believing in the same core values [as our staff]."
One of Brodhead's core values is defense. Last season, the Cajuns held opponents to 58.9 points per game (third in the Sun Belt) and came up with a conference-high 740 turnovers, with a plus-7.06 turnover margin, tops in the Sun Belt. Wilridge led the conference with 100 steals and was the first Cajun since 1989-90 to record that many steals in a season.
"We built this program with defense, the backbone of our whole philosophy," Brodhead said. "The kids believed in the plan and continued to grow over the past three years. We are a more complete team from those aspects.
"Kia Wilridge means everything. It starts with the point guard. She typically guards the opposing point guard or their best player. I beleive she is the best defensive player to ever wear a Cajun uniform. While there are not a lot of stats for defense, you cannot measure a lot of things that she can do. She takes pride in her defensive abilities. With her, it makes it more difficult for opponents to run their offense the way they want."
Louisiana welcomes four new players to the mix this season. Junior guard Taylor Washington comes over from Panola Junior College, while a trio of freshmen, Jordan Alexander, Breionne Cooper and Alex Weeks will become acclimated with the college game.
"We look at all three freshmen as kids who have great potential," Brodhead said. "Alexander is a complete player who fits into our system as a hybrid, between the 3 and the 4. She can guard the 1 through 5 positions. Defense has always been important and we feel she can do that. She handles the ball and shoots the ball well. Bre Cooper has done a great job for us. She's 6-foot-3 and has length. She will bring shot-blocking abilities and has a lot of skill. With Taylor, we want her to shoot the ball and we are starting to see some results early in practice right now. She is getting better every day."
The schedule poses a number of strong opponents, both in non-conference and in the Sun Belt. Two of the first three games are on the road against Ole Miss and Houston. The Cajuns also draw Arkansas in the San Juan Shootout during Thanksgiving week. The Sun Belt Conference boasts defending conference tournament champion Little Rock, to go with Arkansas State and UT-Arlington.
"This is the first year that we feel the conference is wide open," Brodhead said. "There is no dominant team and we believe we have an opportunity to be that dominant team this season. We emphasize in practice how if we prepare like a champion, we will play like a champion. We want to be focused on winning one game at a time."
The Cajuns open the regular season on Sunday, November 15 at Ole Miss. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Season tickets for the 2015-16 campaign are available by calling the Cajundome ticket office at (337) 265-2100, or by emailing DIrector of Tickets, Matt Casbon at mcasbon@cajundome.com
For more information on the Louisiana women's basketball program, fans can Like their Facebook page (/RaginCajunsWBB) or follow the team on Twitter (@RaginCajunsWBB).Â
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Armed with a group that has two Preaseason All-Sun Belt Conference selections in seniors Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge and a number of veteran players, Brodhead feels as good about his team as he has since he took over the program in 2012. Â
"In terms of our maturity, we feel like this is the best team we've had since I've been here," he said. "We have guards that we feel are seasoned and can compete at this level in conference games. For us it's about winning a conference championship and getting to the NCAA Tournament. If we do not accomplish that we will feel like we fell short of our goal."
Complementing the pair of preseason all-conference selections include seniors Jasmin Mills, Adrienne Prejean and Brooklyn Arceneaux. Junior Sylvana Okde is returning from a redshirt season, while fellow junior guard Jaylyn Gordon gained another year of experience under her belt in 2014-15.
"When you return nine kids and five starters, it's a plus because of the experience and the familiarity of our system. We have grown to be consistent in all the phases in our game. It helps the younger kids to understand this is what we do and how we do it. It helps to have those kids behind you believing in the same core values [as our staff]."
One of Brodhead's core values is defense. Last season, the Cajuns held opponents to 58.9 points per game (third in the Sun Belt) and came up with a conference-high 740 turnovers, with a plus-7.06 turnover margin, tops in the Sun Belt. Wilridge led the conference with 100 steals and was the first Cajun since 1989-90 to record that many steals in a season.
"We built this program with defense, the backbone of our whole philosophy," Brodhead said. "The kids believed in the plan and continued to grow over the past three years. We are a more complete team from those aspects.
"Kia Wilridge means everything. It starts with the point guard. She typically guards the opposing point guard or their best player. I beleive she is the best defensive player to ever wear a Cajun uniform. While there are not a lot of stats for defense, you cannot measure a lot of things that she can do. She takes pride in her defensive abilities. With her, it makes it more difficult for opponents to run their offense the way they want."
Louisiana welcomes four new players to the mix this season. Junior guard Taylor Washington comes over from Panola Junior College, while a trio of freshmen, Jordan Alexander, Breionne Cooper and Alex Weeks will become acclimated with the college game.
"We look at all three freshmen as kids who have great potential," Brodhead said. "Alexander is a complete player who fits into our system as a hybrid, between the 3 and the 4. She can guard the 1 through 5 positions. Defense has always been important and we feel she can do that. She handles the ball and shoots the ball well. Bre Cooper has done a great job for us. She's 6-foot-3 and has length. She will bring shot-blocking abilities and has a lot of skill. With Taylor, we want her to shoot the ball and we are starting to see some results early in practice right now. She is getting better every day."
The schedule poses a number of strong opponents, both in non-conference and in the Sun Belt. Two of the first three games are on the road against Ole Miss and Houston. The Cajuns also draw Arkansas in the San Juan Shootout during Thanksgiving week. The Sun Belt Conference boasts defending conference tournament champion Little Rock, to go with Arkansas State and UT-Arlington.
"This is the first year that we feel the conference is wide open," Brodhead said. "There is no dominant team and we believe we have an opportunity to be that dominant team this season. We emphasize in practice how if we prepare like a champion, we will play like a champion. We want to be focused on winning one game at a time."
The Cajuns open the regular season on Sunday, November 15 at Ole Miss. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Season tickets for the 2015-16 campaign are available by calling the Cajundome ticket office at (337) 265-2100, or by emailing DIrector of Tickets, Matt Casbon at mcasbon@cajundome.com
For more information on the Louisiana women's basketball program, fans can Like their Facebook page (/RaginCajunsWBB) or follow the team on Twitter (@RaginCajunsWBB).Â
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Players Mentioned
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