Cajuns Clash With Little Rock in SBC Tourney Semifinals

Game 31 (Sun Belt Conference Tournament Semifinals) – No. 3 Seed Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (21-9) vs. No. 2 Seed Little Rock Trojans (19-11)
Series History: Little Rock leads 18-9
Postseason History: First Meeting
Friday, March 11, 2016 • 2 p.m. • Lakefront Arena – New Orleans, La.
Live Video (ESPN3: Drew Fellios, Steffi Sorensen) l Radio: ESPN1420AM (Jay Walker)
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns • @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana Women's Basketball Home Page l Little Rock Women's Basketball Home Page

LAFAYETTE – The No. 3 seeded Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (21-9) meet the No. 2 seeded Little Rock Trojans in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals this Friday, March 11 at Lakefront Arena. Tip-off for the game is set for 2 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN3.

The Cajuns and the Trojans split the 2015-16 regular season series. Friday's semifinal game will be the first time the two foes clash in the postseason. Little Rock has won 14 games in a row,, their last loss coming back on Jan. 21 at Texas State (67-57 final).

The Cajuns are playing in their second-consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinal game. Last season, they fell to Arkansas State 63-61 at Lakefront Arena.

Should Louisiana win, they will be playing in their first Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship since the 2006-07 season (Lost 77-67 to Middle Tennessee).

Setting the Scene: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (21-9) and Little Rock Trojans (19-11) play for the third time this season after splitting the regular season series. Little Rock is riding a 14-game win streak, while the Cajuns have won their past three games.

Under fourth-year head coach Garry Brodhead, the Cajuns are 3-3 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Last season, they fell to Arkansas State, 63-61 in the semifinal round at Lakefront Arena.

Little Rock is 19-11 this season. Shanity James is the Trojans' leading scorer with 15.2 points per game and leading rebounder (7.6 per game). She is also first on the team in blocks (23) and second in steals (47). Alexius Dawn is averaging 10.8 points per game and has splashed a team-leading 49 three-pointers. She is first in steals (55) and second in assists (92) among Trojans.

For Louisiana, the team has been paced by senior guards Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge. This season, Veal averaged a team-high 17.0 points per game to go with an average of 3.6 rebounds. She has a team-high 75 assists, 68 steals and five blocked shots. WIlridge poured in 11.4 points per game to go with a team-leading 5.3 boards a game. She dished out 90 assists (first on team) and made 47 steals. Sophomore Simone Fields led the Cajuns with 18 points, and added five rebounds and two assists in the semifinal round win over the Mavericks.

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

On The Brink Of History: Including this season, the Cajuns have five 20-win seasons (1983-84, 2004-05, 2006-07, 2014-15, 2015-16). The Cajuns are four wins from tying the program's single-season record, set in 2006-07 when they finished 25-9.

Hot Shooting: For the sixth time this season, the Cajuns turned in a 48% or better shooting performance in their first round conference tournament victory against UT Arlington. Their 48% shooting percentage was the best performance for the Cajuns since Feb. 11 against Arkansas State when they shot 48.1% from the floor.

Okde Three-Point Watch: Redshirt junior guard Sylvana Okde has made 158 three-point shots in her career, one shy of tying Bernette Tolston for fourth all-time in UL history (159). She knocked down a season-high three treys against UT Arlington in the first round win on Wednesday.

Wilridge Assists Watch: Senior guard Kia Wilridge enters the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with 319 career assists. She is 60 helpers shy of tying Ashley Branche for fourth all-time in UL history (384). She tied her career high with nine assists at Troy back on Feb. 25.

Veal Climbing Steals Column: Senior guard Keke Veal currently owns 255 career steals and is seven away from passing Lisa Merritt and moving into sole possession of second place on the Cajuns' all-time list.

Cajuns Dominating the Boards: In five of the past six games, the Cajuns have out-rebounded their opponent. They are 4-2 in those games. They were plus-nine in rebounding margin against UT Arlington with a 35-26 advantage. It was their widest rebounding margin since Feb. 2 against ULM when they finished plus-20.

Veal on an Offensive Tear: Senior guard Keke Veal is closing out her collegiate career on fire offensively. In her last seven games, she is averaging a team-best 22.0 points per contest to go with an average of 5. rebounds. Veal is shooting 39.3% from the floor and 33.3% (11-of-33) from three-point range in her last seven contests. She leads the Cajuns with 22 steals and is second with 19 assists in that seven-game stretch.

What's Next? If the Cajuns win, they will move on to face the winner of the No. 1 Arkansas State and No. 4 Troy semifinal matchup in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday, March 12 at 7 p.m. from Lakefront Arena.

Cajuns Clash With Little Rock in SBC Tourney Semifinals

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Players Mentioned

Simone Fields

Sylvana Okde

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge

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