Cajuns Host Youngstown State in WBI Semifinals

Game 34 – No. 1 Seed Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (23-10) vs. No. 2 Seed Youngstown State Penguins (21-12)
Series History: First Meeting
Postseason History: First Meeting
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 • 5 p.m. • Cajundome – Lafayette, La.
Live Stats l Live Video l Radio: Steve Peloquin (ESPN1420)
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns • @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana Women's Basketball Home Page l Youngstown State Women's Basketball Home Page | Louisiana Game Notes

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (23-10) and Youngstown State (21-12) meet in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) this Wednesday, March 23. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at the Cajundome.

The first 1,000 students will be admitted free with a valid University ID, courtesy of Coca Cola and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Tickets will be available online at RaginCajuns.com and at the Cajundome Box Office with extended hours until 5 p.m. on Tuesday. For more information on tickets, contact the Cajundome Box Office at (337) 265-2357.

The Cajuns overcame a 12-point deficit with 1:50 left in the first quarter to take a 56-47 win over Stetson in the WBI quarterfinals last Saturday.

Louisiana is two 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. In two WBI Tournament games this postseason, Veal is averaging team-highs with 21.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. She also leads the Cajuns in assists (6), blocks (2) and steals (7).

Junior guard Sylvana Okde added 12 points off the bench on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor in the win against Stetson. Her four three-pointers were a season high and bumped her career total to 162, good for fourth place on UL's all-time list, passing Bernette Tolston.

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 70 career wins and trails only J. Kelley Hall (86 wins) on the Cajuns all-time coaching ledger.

Setting the Scene: The No. 1 seeded Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (23-10) and No. 2 seeded Youngstown State will square off in the WBI Tournament semifinals on Wednesday, March 23. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at the Cajundome.

The Cajuns are one win away from their second straight WBI Tournament championship appearance. Should the Cajuns win, they will face the winner of the No. 7 Weber State and No. 8 USC Upstate semfinal game on the opposite side of the WBI bracket.

In Youngstown State's 67-48 win over UMBC in the WBI Quarterfinals, the Penguins made 15 3-pointers in the game and outscored the Retrievers by 26 in quarters 2-4. This is the first time in the history of the YSU program that the Penguins are playing in the postseason in consecutive seasons. The Penguins were in the Women's NIT during the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons and also qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 1996, 1998 and 2000.
The YSU offense features three players who are averaging double-figure points this season. The sophomore trio of Sarah Cash (14.3 ppg), Nikki Arbanas (11.3 ppg) and Indiya Benjamin (10.0 ppg) have been the three most reliable scorers this season for the Penguins. Cash is also grabbing a team-high 7.3 rebounds per contest.

The Cajuns offense is sparked by seniors Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge. The duo combined for 38 points in the first round win against Northwestern State on March 16. Veal also scored 17 points against Stetson in the WBI quarterfinals, while Wilridge added nine points and a team-high five steals against the Hatters.

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 70 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 on March 8. 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: In 14 games this season in the Cajundome, Louisiana has posted an 11-3 record in those contests. They are outscoring opponents by an average of 9.6 points in those games (61.5-51.9). Senior guard Keke Veal is the team's leading scorer with 14.8 points per game, while fellow senior guard Kia Wilridge is chipping in an average of 10.8 points per game, third among Cajuns. Louisiana is also plus-3.0 in the rebounding column (average of 32.9-29.9) against their opponents.

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 two wins from tying the program's single-season record, set in 2006-07 when they finished 25-9.

2016 Postseason Numbers: In four games this postseason, the Cajuns have three players averaging double-digit points. Senior Keke Veal is averaging 18.8 points per game followed by sophomore Simone Fields at 13.3 points. Senior Kia Wilridge comes in as the third leading scorer at 10.5 points per contest.

Okde Three-Point Watch: Redshirt junior guard Sylvana Okde has made 162 three-point shots in her career, good for fourth-most in Cajuns history. She is eight shy of tying Alyson Habetz for third on UL's all-time list with 170. She splashed a season-high of four three-pointers against Stetson last Saturday.

Wilridge Assists Watch: Senior guard Kia Wilridge enters Wednesday night with 327 career assists. She is 57 helpers shy of tying Ashley Branche for fourth all-time in UL history (384). Wilridge is two assists away from cracking 100 this season, which would be a career first.

What's Next? If the Cajuns win, they will advance to the WBI championship game vs. the winner of the No. 7 Weber State and No. 8 USC Upstate semifinals matchup on either March 26 or 27.

Cajuns Host Youngstown State in WBI Semifinals

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Players Mentioned

Simone Fields

Sylvana Okde

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge

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