Cajuns to Host Northwestern State in WBI First Round

Game 32 – No. 1 Seed Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (21-10) vs. No. 8 Seed Northwestern State Lady Demons (19-11)
Series History: Northwestern State leads 26-5
Postseason History: First Meeting
Wednesday, March 16, 2016 • 5 p.m. • Cajundome – Lafayette, La.
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Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns • @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana Women's Basketball Home Page l Northwestern State Women's Basketball Home Page | Louisiana Game Notes

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (21-10) look to defend their 2015 WBI Championship after accepting their bid this past Monday. The Cajuns are the No. 1 seed and will face No. 8 seed Northwestern State at the Cajundome Wednesday, March 16 at 5 p.m.

Wednesday night, the first 1,000 students get a free ticket with a valid student ID courtesy of Buffalo Wild Wings and Coca Cola.

Louisiana is four wins from tying the program's single-season record, set in 2006-07 when they finished 25-9. They can reach the 25-win plateau should they win the WBI Tournament.

Senior guard Keke Veal, the WBI Tournament MVP last season, averaged 21.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and led the Cajuns in assists (12) in the four games vs. UT Pan American, McNeese State, Oral Roberts and Siena.

Senior Kia Wilridge moved into sole possession of sixth place on the Cajuns' all-time scoring list with 1,204 career points.

Fourth-year head coach Garry Brodhead passed Ross Cook for sole possession of second place for most wins in program history with 58 in the Cajuns' 56-39 win at Georgia Southern on Jan. 14. Brodhead is currently at 68 career wins and trails only J. Kelley Hall (86 wins) on the Cajuns all-time coaching ledger.

Setting the Scene: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (21-10) are headed to the Women's Basketball Invitational for the second straight season, this time as the defending tournament champions. The Cajuns earned the No. 1 seed and will face No. 8 seed Northwestern State on Wednesday, March 16 at the Cajundome for a 5 p.m. tip-off.

Northwestern State is 19-11 this season. Their offense is paced by Janelle Perez, who is averaging a team-high 15.8 points per contest. She also owns 120 assists (4.0 per game), third most in the Southland Conference.

The Cajuns are led by senior guards Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge. Veal is averaging a team-high 17.0 points per game to go with 3.6 boards per contest. She is second in assists with 76 and first in steals with 71. Wilridge is producing 11.4 points per game and has distributed a team-leading 94 assists and is second in steals with 50. She is three assists shy of setting a new career-high, passing the 96 she established as a freshman in 2012-13.

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.

Veal, Wilridge Named All-Sun Belt: Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns seniors Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge were both named to the All-Sun Belt Conference team last Tuesday. It is the second all-conference honor for both players in their four-year careers. Veal, a native of Opelousas, La., was a first-team All-SBC selection while Wilridge, a Crowley, La., native, was named to the second team. Both were named to the All-Sun Belt Conference third team following the 2014-15 season.

Cajundome Numbers: During the 2015-16 regular season, the Cajuns won 10 of 13 games played in the Cajundome. The 10 wins are the second-highest total in program history, five behind last season's program-record 15 victories.

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.

Wilridge In 2015 WBI: During last season's WBI Tournament Championship run, senior guard Kia Wilridge averaged 12.3 points per game, second highest on the Cajuns. She came up with a team-high 12 steals, six assists and shot 50% (21-of-42) from the floor. Her .500 shooting percentage was a team high.

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 Sun Belt Tournament's first round win last Wednesday.

Wilridge Assists Watch: Senior guard Kia Wilridge enters the WBI with 323 career assists. She is 56 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 comes into the WBI with 258 career steals and is four away from passing Lisa Merritt and moving into sole possession of second place on the Cajuns' all-time list (262).

Veal on an Offensive Tear: Senior guard Keke Veal is closing out her collegiate career on fire offensively. In her last eight games, she is averaging a team-best 21.4 points per contest to go with an average of 4.9 rebounds. Veal is shooting 41.4% from the floor and 33.3% (12-of-36) from three-point range in her last eight contests. She leads the Cajuns with 25 steals and is second with 20 assists in that eight-game stretch.

What's Next? If the Cajuns win, they will play the winner of the Stetson-McNeese State first round game on either March 19 or 20 in the WBI Quarterfinals.

Cajuns to Host Northwestern State in WBI First Round

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Players Mentioned

Sylvana Okde

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge

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