Cajuns Look to Claim SBC Tourney No. 3 Seed on Senior Day

Game 29 - Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (19-9, 12-7 SBC) vs. Georgia Southern Eagles (7-21, 4-15 SBC)
Series History: Louisiana leads 3-0
Saturday, March 5, 2016 • 5 p.m. • Cajundome – Lafayette, La.
Live Stats l Live Video l Radio: TalkRadio 960AM (Steve Peloquin)
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns • @RaginCajunWBB
Louisiana Women's Basketball Home Page l Georgia Southern Women's Basketball Home Page | Louisiana Game Notes

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team (19-9, 12-7 SBC) closes out the 2015-16 regular season this Saturday, March 5 at home against Georgia Southern. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

The Cajuns can clinch the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a win over Georgia Southern on Saturday.

In the season's first meeting against Georgia Southern on January 14, the Cajuns trailed 12-2 to open the game. Louisiana held the Georgia Southern Eagles to 27 points over the last 35:18 to come away victorious, 56-39.

Senior Kia Wilridge moved into a sixth-place tie with Alyson Habetz in program history with 1,192 career points.

Senior forward Adrienne Prejean scored a career-high 13 points in the 65-60 win over Georgia State this past Thursday. She also added a season-high eight rebounds.

The Cajuns reached double-digit wins at home in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2005-06 and 2006-07 campaigns.

SENIOR DAY AND PROMOTIONS
Saturday is Senior Day for the women's basketball program. Student Manager Jacob Benoit, Brooklyn Arceneaux, Adrienne Prejean, Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge will all be honored at halftime of the men's basketball game.

There is also a ticket discount for any fans who buy a ticket for the 2 o'clock Cajuns baseball game against Sacred Heart. Fans can bring their baseball ticket to the Cajundome gates and receive a ticket into the game for $5.

The final promotion for Saturday will give a fan an opportunity to shoot to win a Dodge Charger valued at $30,000.

Setting the Scene: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (19-9, 12-7 SBC) finish their regular season slate this Saturday, March 5 against Georgia Southern. With a win over the Eagles, the Cajuns would clinch the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament next week in New Orleans.

At halftime of the men's basketball game on Saturday, five Cajuns seniors will be honored for their time spent with the women's basketball program. Brooklyn Arceneaux, Adrienne Prejean, Keke Veal, Kia Wilridge and student manager Jacob Benoit will all be recognized in their final home game this season.

Georgia Southern comes into the final game of the 2015-16 regular season with a 7-21 overall record and a 4-15 mark in Sun Belt Conference play. They have dropped their past seven games and are just 3-10 away from Statesboro this season. Junior guard Angel McGowan leads the offense with 14.6 points per game and is first in steals (60) second in assists (62).

The Cajuns go for the regular season sweep over the Georgia Southern Eagles. In 13 home games this season, the Cajuns are outscoring their opponents by an average of 12.7 points per game. Senior Keke Veal is averaging a team-high 13.6 points per game in those contests. Senior Kia Wilridge is pulling down a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game at home.

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 66 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: Should the Cajuns win on Saturday, it would cap a 20-9 regular season. With the Cajuns' 23-12 record last year, it would mark the first back-to-back 20-win seasons in the history of the women's basketball program.

Cajuns Defense Remains Strong: The Cajuns have maintained one of the best scoring defenses throughout this season. Louisiana is ranked 38th in the nation in scoring defense, holding the opposition to 56.8 points per game.

Okde Three-Point Watch: Redshirt junior guard Sylvana Okde has made 153 three-point shots in her career, six shy of tying Bernette Tolston for fourth all-time in UL history (159).

Wilridge Assists Watch: Senior guard Kia Wilridge enters the regular season finale with 311 career assists. She is 68 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.

Wilridge's Moves Up Points List: Senior guard Kia Wilridge comes into Saturday's game with 1,192 career points. She needs one more point to pass Alyson Habetz for sixth-most in program history.

Veal Climbing Steals Column: Senior guard Keke Veal comes into Thursday night with 251 career steals and is 11 away from passing Lisa Merritt and moving into sole possession of second place on the Cajuns' all-time list.

Cajuns Piling up Steals: In four of the past five games, the Cajuns have tallied double-digit steals, including 13 in the 65-60 win against Georgia State this past Thursday. The 13 steals were the most since Jan. 2 when they matched that total at Appalachian State.

Veal on an Offensive Tear: Senior guard Keke Veal is closing out her collegiate career on fire offensively. In her last five games, she is averaging a team-best 24.4 points per contest to go with an average of 5.4 rebounds. Veal is shooting 40% from the floor and 41.7% from three-point range in her last five contests. She leads the Cajuns with 18 steals and is second with 14 assists in that five-game span.

What's Next? The Cajuns head to New Orleans next week to play an opponent to-be-determined in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

Cajuns Look to Claim SBC Tourney No. 3 Seed on Senior Day

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Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Arceneaux

Sylvana Okde

Adrienne Prejean

Keke Veal

Kia Wilridge

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