Game 16 - Louisiana-Lafayette Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team will head back out on the road and begin a two-game road trip when the Lady Jags travel to take on Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday.  Tip-off versus the Ragin’ Cajuns is set for 7 p.m. at Earl K. Long Gym.

Live stats and live web streaming for the game versus the Ragin’ Cajuns can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.  

South Alabama (9-6, 2-4 SBC) enters play this week after suffering a 60-39 loss to Middle Tennessee on Saturday.  The 39 points versus the Blue Raiders was a new season-low for the Lady Jags.

Veronica Cherizol was the lone offensive bright spot for USA in the loss, tying a career-high with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 38 minutes of action.  The Blue Raiders held a big advantage in two key categories, outscoring USA 32-18 in the paint and 22-6 in points off turnovers.

Mary Nixon continues to pace the Jaguars in scoring with 12.3 points per game, which ranks 13th in the Sun Belt.  The senior guard is knocking down 39.4 percent of her attempts from the field and 35.1 of her three-point field goals - seventh in the league.

Along with Nixon, USA has four other players shooting over 30 percent from the arc - Cherizol (36.8), Brittany Webb (36.4), Dunn (32.4) and Camille Reynolds (30.3).  Dunn is also tied for eighth in the Sun Belt in treys per game with 1.5.  As a team, the Lady Jags lead the league with 6.5 three-pointers per game.

USA has also done an outstanding guarding the arc as the Jaguars not only leads the SBC but also the nation in three-point field goal defense, holding opponents to just 21.4 percent shooting from beyond the three-point line.  South Alabama also ranks second in the SBC in scoring defense (53.7), field-goal defense (38.4), rebounding defense (36.2) and rebounding margin (+3.8).  

Junior forward Ronneka Robertson leads the Lady Jags on the glass and is ninth in the Sun Belt in rebounding with 7.1 per outing.  Robertson has posted six or more boards in 11 of her last 14 games.  Cherizol has also been solid on the boards as she is 12th in the conference in rebounding with 6.3.  She has three double-figure rebounding games thus far this season.

Louisiana-Lafayette (7-8, 1-5 SBC) comes into Wednesday’s contest versus USA after dropping both its games last week, falling 79-44 at Florida Atlantic and 63-47 at Florida International.  With the two losses, ULL has lost four of its last six with the two victories during the recent stretch coming in overtime.

The Ragin’ Cajuns have been strong at home as they hold a 5-2 record in Lafayette, including a 56-54 double-overtime win over UALR - who had been undefeated in league play - back on Dec. 29.

“Louisiana-Lafayette is playing very hard under coach (Garry) Broadhead,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “They’ve had a couple of signature wins with their road win at Tulane and the home win against defending West Division champion UALR, so they’ve shown that they are capable of beating anyone any given night.  We’re going to have to bring maximum effort to try to get a road win in this case.”

Louisiana-Lafayette ranks as the top offensive rebounding team in the SBC entering play this week.  The Cajuns are averaging 17.9 offensive boards per game.  ULL is also tied with Florida Atlantic for second in the conference in steals as they are averaging 12.3 per game - which is 29th in the latest NCAA rankings.

Three players for the Ragin’ Cajuns rank among the league leaders in steals.  Kia Wilridge’s 2.7 steals per game is fourth in the conference, while Keke Veal is tied for fifth with 2.6 and Ashley Benjamin is 13th with 2.0.

Offensively, ULL is paced by a pair of freshmen off the bench.  Sylvana Okde paces the club with 11.2 ppg - 15th in the SBC - while Veal is close behind her at 10.7 ppg.  Wilridge and Benjamin sit just outside of double digits, averaging 9.2 and 8.5 points per game respectively.  

Okde ranks as one of the top three-point shooters in the Sun Belt.  She is fourth in the conference in three-point field-goal percentage (.396) and her 2.5 treys per game are the most of any other player.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

NOTES:  The meeting between South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette will be the 43rd in the all-time series.  South Alabama holds a huge advantage in the all-time series, leading the Ragin’ Cajuns 32-10.  Under head coach Rick Pietri, the Lady Jags have been just as dominant, holding a 18-3 mark and have won eight-straight in the series.  Last season, South Alabama defeated ULL 72-68 in Lafayette, La.   The meeting between Pietri and Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Garry Brodhead will be the first between the two coaches.  The Lady Jags not only leads the SBC but also the nation in three-point field goal defense, holding opponents to just 21.4 percent shooting from beyond the three-point line.  South Alabama also ranks second in the SBC in scoring defense (53.7), field-goal defense (38.4), rebounding defense (36.2) and rebounding margin (+3.8).  ULL’s Sylvana Okde ranks as one of the top three-point shooters in the Sun Belt.  She is fourth in the conference in three-point field-goal percentage (.396) and her 2.5 treys per game are the most of any other player.

-- USA --