Cajuns Face Aggies In Second Round Of Preseason WNIT

LAFAYETTE – After their first Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament win in school history, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team heads into a second-round Sunday matinee matchup against the nationaly ranked No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies, with tip-off scheduled for a 2 p.m. start in College Station, Texas.

HOW THEY GOT THERE: The Cajuns earned a berth in the second round by defeating the New Orleans Privateers, 66-57, on Friday Nov. 10 at the Cajundome. Louisiana was powered to victory by a second quarter that saw them go on a 11-0 run that allowed them to outscore the Privateers 24-7 in that quarter alone.

Senior Simone Fields lead the Cajuns in both points scored (18) and rebounds (nine) while freshman Skyler Goodwin shot well on the night, in her first collegiate regular season start, finishing 5-9 from the field that included a 3-4 shooting performance from beyond the arc giving her 13 points on the night along with five rebounds.

Overall the Cajuns defense was strong as they held UNO to under 40 percent shooting (39 percent) and their perimeter defense was strong holding the Privateers to only 11 percent shooting from three-point range. Louisiana was strong on the boards as well, as they had 34 rebounds to UNO's 28 giving them plenty of second chance scoring opportunities through the night.

IT FEELS LIKE 1977: The last time the Cajuns and the Aggies faced off the number one song in America was 'Torn Between Two Lovers', by Mary MacGregor while 'Rocky' was still leading the box office in the middle of a seven-week run as the number one film in the country.

The February 10, 1977 matchup was only the second meeting in school history, making Sunday's game the first matchup between the two programs in over 40 years. The Aggies own a 2-0 record all-time over the Cajuns, and both games were played in a neutral site, making this the first trip to College Station for the Cajuns.

WHAT THE AGGIES DID: Texas A&M won their first-round game against Houston, 83-65, on Friday night in College Station. The Aggies jumped on the Cougars in the first quarter outscoring Houston 30-19, but the Cougars fought back, making it a game going into the fourth quarter as they outscored the Aggies 16-12 in the third period to make it 60-53.

But Texas A&M pulled away late winning the fourth quarter 23-12 to take the game 83-65 to move into the second round. The Aggies shot 41 percent from the field, but they were led by a 50 percent team shooting percentage from three-point range (6-12) that helped Texas A&M pull away late.

FIELDS KNOCKS ON HISTORY'S DOOR: With her 18 points on Friday night, Fields is only 10 points away from 1,000 career points and 96 points away from cracking the Cajuns top-10 All-Time scoring list.

WHAT A WIN/LOSS MEANS: A win on Sunday would put the Cajuns in the Preseason WNIT semifinals where they'd face off against either the Oregon Ducks or the Drake Bulldogs depending on the outcome of that game. That game would be on Thursday, Nov. 16 with the time and location to be determined.

A loss would move the Cajuns consolation bracket, where they'd more than likely face off against the loser of the Oregon/Drake game.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN SUNDAY'S GAME: Sunday's game in College Station will be televeised on the SEC Network with Mike Wright (play-by-play) and Tap Bentz (color) on the call. The game can be watched on the WatchESPN App.

Locally ESPN 1420 AM will cover the game with Steve Peloquin handling the duties on the mike and that can be accessed both on the radio and online at www.espn1420.com. Live stats will be provided as well via the Texas A&M athletic department.

FOLLOWING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS: Follow the Cajuns @RaginCajunsWBB on twitter for updates during the game, links to the stream and a link to the recap following the game.

#GEAUXCAJUNS

Cajuns Face Aggies In Second Round Of Preseason WNIT

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Players Mentioned

Simone Fields

Skyler Goodwin

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