Cajuns Head to Little Rock to Begin Road Trip

Game 12 - Louisiana Ragins (9-2, 2-0 SBC) at Little Rock Trojans (3-8, 1-1 SBC)
Series History: Little Rock leads 17-8
Thursday, January 7, 2016 • 5:15 p.m. (CST) • Jack Stephens Center – Little Rock, Ark.
Live Stats l Live Video l Radio: ESPN1420 (Steve Peloquin)
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns • @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana Women's Basketball Home Page l Little Rock Women's Basketball Home Page | L ouisiana Game Notes

LAFAYETTE – The Ragin' Cajuns go for their eighth win in their last nine games overall when they play at the Jack Stephens Center vs. Little Rock for a 5:15 p.m. tip-off Thursday, Jan. 7. The Cajuns look to snap a five-game losing streak to Little Rock.

In the Cajuns 60-51 win vs. Appalachian State last Saturday, junior Jaylyn Gordon scored 10 points to go with six assists, one shy of tying her career high. Senior Keke Veal tied her career high with six steals and added 10 points and an assist. The 10 points extended her double-digit point streak to 25 games.

Fourth-year head coach Garry Brodhead is two wins away from becoming the second-winningest coach in the history of the Louisiana program. He currently trails Ross Cook (57) and J. Kelley Hall (86) on the Cajuns all-time coaching ledger.

The Cajuns defense is holding opponents to a Sun Belt Conference-best 54.2 points per game this season. They are also limiting Sun Belt Conference opponents to 51.5 points per game in two contests, second-lowest among Sun Belt Conference schools. Louisiana is ranked 26th nationally in scoring defense.

Setting the Scene: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (9-2, 2-0 SBC) go for their eighth win in their last nine games as they embark on a four-game road trip. The Cajuns will begin their four-game road stint at Little Rock Thursday, January 7 for a 5:15 p.m. tip-off.
The Ragin' Cajuns are off to their first 2-0 conference start since the 2004-05 season. They are looking for their first win against Little Rock since Dec. 29, 2012. Through the first week of the conference season, the Cajuns are tied for first place in the Sun Belt standings with Arkansas State and Texas State.
Louisiana's offense possesses three of the conference's top nine scorers. Senior guard Keke Veal (15.3 ppg), junior guard Jaylyn Gordon (14.1 ppg) and Kia Wilridge (13.0 ppg) are ranked fourth, seventh and ninth, respectively in the Sun Belt Conference in offensive output.
Gordon is producing a team-high 15.5 points per game in two conference games. She has dealt out a team-high nine assists in the two conference contests as well.
Little Rock is looking to rebound from a 78-71 loss at Troy on January 2. Senior forward Shanity James is the sixth-leading scorer in the Sun Belt Conference, averaging 15.1 points per game. Sophomore guard Monique Townson is fourth in the conference in rebounding per game, pulling down an average of 3.8 boards per outing.

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 is currently the third-winningest head coach in Cajuns history (56). He needs two wins to pass Ross Cook (57) for second on the program's all-time list.

Cajuns In the Rankings: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team moved up one spot to No. 23 in last week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. The Cajuns garnered 121 total points in the rankings.

Welcome Back: Returning from redshirt seasons are senior Brooklyn Arceneaux and junior Sylvana Okde. In 2013-14, Okde averaged 10.9 points and drained a team-high 74 three-pointers. That season, Arceneaux finished as the team's second-leading scorer (among players in at least 25 games played) averaging 10.5 points and adding 5.2 rebounds per contest. Arceneaux has averaged 4.4 points and 4.0 rebounds (third on team) in eight games as a starter and 11 games overall. She is shooting 38.9.% (21-of-54) from the floor and has come up with eight steals on the defensive end of the floor. She is also one of four players with double-digit assists (10). Okde has appeared in five games this season. She scored two points and picked up an assist in six minutes in an 84-36 win over Dillard back on Dec. 12.

Heavy Minutes: Junior Jaylyn Gordon is playing the fifth-most minutes per game this season (32.6) among Sun Belt Conference players. The 32.6 minutes per game is on pace to tie a career high for the Edgard, La., native, who averaged 32.6 minutes in 34 games last season.

Winning the Turnover Battle: Through the first 11 games of the season, the Ragin' Cajuns are ranked seventh in the nation with a turnover margin of plus-8.5. (163 turnovers vs. 257 turnovers forced in 11 games).

Wilridge Assist Watch: Senior guard Kia Wilridge picked up one assist in the last game vs. Appalachian State on Jan. 2, bumping her career total to 256. She is six helpers shy of passing Alicia McDaniel for sole possession of sixth place on the Cajuns' all-time list.

Gordon 3-Point Watch: Junior guard Jaylyn Gordon enters Thursday's game with
135 career three-point field goals made, currently seventh-most in Cajuns history. She needs nine more triples to pass Onna Charles for sole possession of sixth place in Ragin' Cajuns history.

Veal Seeing Double: Senior guard Keke Veal has scored in double-figures in 25 consecutive games dating back to last season.

What's Next? The Cajuns will visit Arkansas State in Jonesboro on Saturday, Jan. 9 for a 3:05 p.m. tip-off.

Cajuns Head to Little Rock to Begin Road Trip

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Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Arceneaux

Jaylyn Gordon

Sylvana Okde

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge

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