Cajuns Continue Home Stand Against Texas State

Game 18 - Louisiana Ragins (14-3, 7-1 SBC) vs. Texas State Bobcats (9-8, 4-3 SBC)
Series History: Texas State leads 5-4
Thursday, January 28, 2016 • 5 p.m. • Cajundome – Lafayette, La.
Live Stats l Live Video l Radio: ESPN1420 (Jay Walker)
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns • @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana Women's Basketball Home Page l Texas State Women's Basketball Home Page | L ouisiana Game Notes

LAFAYETTE – The Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team goes for their 13th win in their last 15 games overall as they host Texas State this Thursday, Jan. 28 for a 5 p.m. tip-off at the Cajundome.

For Thursday night's game, SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) will be collecting shoes to benefit Soles for Souls, beginning at 4:30 p.m. before the women's game until after the start of the men's game at 7:15 p.m. Shoes will be donated to Soles 4 Souls, which is a not-for-profit organization that distributes shoes to people around the world to fight poverty. Any type of gently used pair of shoes can be donated.

Thursday night also allows UL faculty and staff to purchase a "buy-one-get-one-free" ticket with their UL ID Card.

Finally, Thursday's game is also McDonald's Family Fun Pack Night, which includes four tickets and four extra value meals for $20.

Louisiana is off to their best conference start in program history with a 7-1 record. The program's best conference start prior to this season was back in 1983-84 when the team started 6-2 (finished 9-3 in Southland Conference that season).

The Cajuns have handed out double-digit assists in five of the last six games and have finished with double-digit helpers in 13 of the 17 contests this season.

Against South Alabama last Thursday, the Cajuns offense shot 50.8% (30-of-59) from the floor, the fourth time in 2015-16 they registered shooting percentage of 50% or higher.

Setting the Scene: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (14-3, 7-1 SBC) are riding a four-game win streak and look to maintain a perfect home record (7-0) when the Texas State Bobcats come to Lafayette this Thursday, Jan. 28. The Cajuns have won the first two games of their current five-game home stint, defeating South Alabama and Troy last week.

Louisiana maintains its hold of second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings, currently a half-game behind Arkansas State.

The Cajuns defense has continued its strong play through the conference season. They have held opponents to a conference best 55.1 points per game and have come up with 154 steals (9.1 per game), fourth-most in the Sun Belt Conference.

Senior Keke Veal is currently the fifth-leading scorer among Sun Belt Conference players, producing an average of 15.4 points per game.

Texas State (9-8, 4-3 SBC) comes into Thursday's game losers of two of the last three games. Redshirt sophomore guard Kaitlin Walla paces the Bobcats offense with an average of 12.3 points per game to go with 4.4 boards per outing. Sophomore guard Taeler Deer leads Texas State with 47 assists and 27 steals.

Coach Brodhead at the Helm: Louisiana head coach Garry Brodhead is in his fourth season at the helm of the Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball program, finishing with 23 wins last season, the most in a single season since 2006-07 (25). Brodhead guided the team to 15 victories at home in 2014-15, a program record. He passed Ross Cook (57) to move into sole possession of second place on the program's all-time wins list with his 58th victory on January 14. Brodhead trails only J. Kelley Hall (86) for the most wins by a coach in Ragin' Cajuns history.

Cajuns In the Rankings: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team maintained it's hold on the 22nd spot in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Women's Mid-Major rankings, released this past Tuesday. The Cajuns and Arkansas State (No. 10) are one of two Sun Belt Conference schools among the Top 25 in this week's rankings.

First Half Success: The Cajuns have gone into halftime leading in 12 of the 17 games they've played this season. They have won all 12 games in which they held a lead at the intermission.

Efficient Offense: Entering Thursday's contest with Texas State, the Cajuns rank third in the Sun Belt Conference in field goal percentage at .419.

Freshman In the Middle: Freshman center Breionne Cooper has become a force down low on both ends of the floor this season. In her last five games, Cooper is pulling down a team-high 6.0 rebounds and chipping in 5.4 points per contest. She has also blocked five shots during the five-game stretch, also a team high.

Cooper's Block Party: Louisiana freshman center Breionne Cooper owns a team-high 11 blocked shots this season. The 11 blocks are the most for a Cajun in a single season since 2012-13 (Keke Veal, Jasmin Mills, Robbie Brown each had 10 that season).

Veal Continues Points Chase: Cajuns senior guard Keke Veal brings 1,315 career points into the Texas State game this Thursday. She is 43 points away from tying Teena Cooper (1,358) for third place in the Cajuns record books.

Crashing the Boards: Over their past eight games, the Cajuns have pulled down at least 31 rebounds per contest. They are 7-1 in those games and are 14-1 this season when recording at least 30 rebounds.

Rebounds For Arceneaux: Senior forward Brooklyn Arceneaux has led the team in rebounds in the last two games, pulling down a team-high 17 against South Alabama and Troy. In five games this season, Arceneaux has either been tied for or has finished as the team's leading rebounder.

What's Next? The Cajuns welcome UT Arlington to town this Saturday, Jan. 30 for a 2 p.m. tip-off at the Cajundome.

Cajuns Continue Home Stand Against Texas State

Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Arceneaux

Robbie Brown

Breionne Cooper

Jasmin Mills

Keke Veal

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