Ragin' Cajuns End Weekend at Texas State on Saturday

Game 25 - Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (17-7, 10-5 SBC) at Texas State Bobcats (12-12, 7-7 SBC)
Series History: Texas State leads 6-4
Saturday, February 20, 2016 • 2 p.m. • Strahan Coliseum – San Marcos, Texas
Live Stats l Live Video l Radio: Talk960 AM (Jay Walker)
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns • @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana Women's Basketball Home Page l Texas State's Women's Basketball Home Page

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (17-7, 10-5 SBC) finish the weekend with their second matchup of the season with the Texas State Bobcats (12-12, 7-7 SBC) in San Marcos, Texas this Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. The Cajuns snapped a three-game losing streak with a 59-42 win at UT Arlington on Thursday.

The offensive trio of sophomore Simone Fields (19) and seniors Keke Veal (17) and Kia Wilridge (11) combined for 47 of the team's 59 points in the victory at UT Arlington.

The Cajuns remain in third place in the Sun Belt Conference standings and sit a game behind Little Rock for second place at 10-5.

Setting the Scene: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns play their second of four straight road games against the Texas State Bobcats on Saturday, Feb. 20. In the regular season's first meeting with Texas State, the Bobcats held the Cajuns to a season-low 42 points in a 46-42 win. Cajuns senior guard Kia Wilridge finished with team-highs in points (10) and rebounds (9). The Crowley, La., native also picked up four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Texas State comes into Saturday's game winners of their last two games, both at home, against Appalachian State (87-76) and ULM (63-57). They are 9-2 at home this season, recently falling to UT Arlington back on Feb. 9 by an 80-48 final. Raven Burns has averaged 12.0 points as the Bobcats leading scorer over the past five games. Over that same span, Texas State has been outscored by an average score of 72.8-64.8. Erika May has pulled down a team-high 37 rebounds (7.4 average) in her last five contests.

The Cajuns are 6-4 on the road this season and have won three of their last four games away from the Cajundome. Louisiana continues to boast the Sun Belt Conference's top scoring defense, limiting opponents to an average of 55.2 points per game. Senior guard Keke Veal is fifth in the conference in scoring with an average of 15.5 points per contest. Sophomore Simone Fields has registered the sixth-best field goal percentage in the Sun Belt Conference at .517 (74-of-143).

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. With 64 career victories, Brodhead trails only J. Kelley Hall (86) for the most wins by a coach in Ragin' Cajuns history.

Road Success: The Ragin' Cajuns are one of three Sun Belt Conference schools with a winning record on the road this season (6-4). Arkansas State (10-3) and UT Arlington (8-5) are the others.

Defense in Conference Games: The Cajuns enter Saturday's game holding conference opponents to an average of 55.4 points per game, second behind Little Rock (50.6) for first in the SBC.

Okde Three-Point Watch: Cajuns redshirt junior guard Sylvana Okde has made 152 three-point shots in her career, seven shy of tying Bernette Tolston for fourth all-time in UL history (159).

Another Strong Performance For Fields: Sophomore forward Simone Fields matched her career-high with 19 points in the 59-42 win at UT Arlington on Thursday. It is the second time in the last five games Fields has finished as the team's leading scorer. She has also finished with double-digit points in three of the past six games. Fields is the only other Cajun besides Keke Veal, Kia Wilridge and Jaylyn Gordon to lead Louisiana in scoring in a game this season (accomplished three times – first vs. SUNO on Nov. 19).

Coming Up With Steals: In the win at UT Arlington, the Cajuns created 11 steals, their highest total since Jan. 2 against Appalachian State when they totaled 13 steals. Louisiana is 9-1 this season when they come up with double-digit steals.

Three-Point Drought: In the last five games, the Cajuns offense has made just four three-pointers in 39 attempts (10.2%). In the three previous games from Jan. 23-28, the Cajuns made 14 three-pointers.

Cajuns vs. Texas Opponents: In the three games this season against schools reigning from the state of Texas (UT Arlington, Texas State), the Cajuns are 2-1 and averaging 54.7 points per game, shooting 35.5% (54-of-152) from the floor. They have come up with 28 steals, 23 assists and four blocked shots and are allowing just 46.7 points in the three games.

Wilridge Rebound Leader: Senior guard Kia Wilridge currently leads the Cajuns in rebounding with 121 this season. She finished last season tied with Simone Fields for the team lead with 158. Should Wilridge maintain her current rebounding pace, she would finish as the team's sole rebound leader for the first time in her career.

What's Next? The Cajuns will play at Troy next Thursday, Feb. 25 for a 5:15 p.m. tip-off.

Ragin' Cajuns End Weekend at Texas State on Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Simone Fields

Jaylyn Gordon

Sylvana Okde

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics