Game 25 - Louisiana-Lafayette Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team closes out its three-game home stand Wednesday night as the Lady Jags hosts Sun Belt West Division foe Louisiana-Lafayette at the Mitchell Center in its annual “Pink Zone” game.  Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.

USA’s WBCA “Pink Zone” contest is to try and raise breast cancer awareness.  For just the third time in the program’s history, the Lady Jags will wear pink uniforms.  Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game.

Live stats and live streaming of the contest between the Lady Jags and the Ragin’ Cajuns can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.  

South Alabama (13-11, 6-9 SBC) enters the midweek match up versus the Ragin’ Cajuns after dropping a disappointing 59-56 decision to Florida Atlantic on Saturday.  USA had a chance at the end of regulation to extend the contest, but Meghan Dunn’s three-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer.  With the loss, the Lady Jags have dropped four of their last five Sun Belt games.

Brianna Wright and Mary Nixon led the way offensively for USA in the loss, with each recording 13 points.  Wright also tied a career high with 11 rebounds, giving the 6-1 freshman post player the first double-double of her career.  With her 13 points, Wright has now scored double figures in six of her last eight games.  Over that same stretch, the Greenville, Miss., native has led USA with 12.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while also knocking down 51.1 percent of her shot attempts.  Coming into play this week, Wright is tied with UALR’s Kierra Clark for sixth in the SBC in shooting (.517).

Nixon has also played well as of late, registering double digits in four of her last five outings.  She is shooting 41.1 percent from the floor and she is second in the conference in three-point shooting, knocking down 39.2 percent of her attempts from outside the arc.

Entering the game versus ULL, junior forward Ronneka Robertson leads the club on the glass as her 7.2 rebounds per game, which are sixth-most in the SBC.  She is also tied for sixth in defensive rebounds with 4.7 per game and tied for ninth in offensive rebounds with 2.5.  She has posted six or more boards in 18 games, including eight against the Owls on Saturday.

South Alabama continues to rank among the conference leaders in several categories.  USA is tied with FAU for first in the SBC in three-pointers per game (6.0), while also ranking second in scoring defense (54.9) and field-goal defense (.391).  USA is tied with Middle Tennessee for second in rebounding defense (35.8) and third three-point field-goal defense (27.0).

Louisiana-Lafayette (7-16, 1-13 SBC) comes into Wednesday night’s game versus the Lady Jags after falling at home to in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe in overtime on Sunday.  The loss was the 10th straight for the Ragin’ Cajuns.  However, five of the last seven have been in single digits, including two in overtime.

ULM closed out the second half with an 11-2 run to force overtime and fended off a Ragin’ Cajuns rally in the extra session to escape with a 68-63 victory.

“Louisiana-Lafayette is tremendously athletic,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “They are undersized, but they are tremendously athletic and explosive.  They have a great three-point threat in (Sylvana) Okde. She can extend the floor on offense for them.  Defensively, they play hard with a lot of energy.  Although they are undersized, they do find ways to get offensive rebounds, by using their quickness and speed to run balls down.  Although, they’ve only won one league game, they’ve competed regularly.  With Troy beating Middle Tennessee (on Sunday) in Murfreesboro and as ULL showed earlier this season in beating UALR, they are capable and we’ve got to find a way to play as hard or harder as they will when they come into our building.”

With her 20 points, Sylvana Okde led the ULL offense as it was her sixth 20-point outing of the season.  Okde was 8-of-16 from the field and 4-for-10 from long range.  The freshman guard ranks second on the club and 17th in the league in scoring with 11.3 ppg.  Okde also leads the Sun Belt in treys per game with 2.6 and is fifth with a three-point percentage of 38.2.  She has 60 treys this season and in the first meeting this season with USA, had 14 points and four threes.

Louisiana-Lafayette also has another freshman leading the way offensively as Keke Veal ranks just ahead of Okde with 11.4 ppg - tied for 15th in the SBC.  Veal has also been outstanding at the defensive end of the floor as she has 51 steals and ranks fifth in the conference in that category with 2.3 per game.  As a team, ULL is third in the Sun Belt in steals with 10.3 a game.

Kia Wilridge is fourth in steals with 2.4 per game.  She is averaging 8.0 points per game and leads the team with 74 assists.

In the post, junior forward Ashley Benjamin is averaging 8.8 ppg and leads ULL on the glass with 5.9 rpg.

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 44th in the all-time series.  South Alabama holds a huge advantage in the all-time series, leading the Ragin’ Cajuns 33-10.  Under head coach Rick Pietri, the Lady Jags have been just as dominant, holding a 19-3 mark and have won nine-straight in the series.  USA took the first meeting this season, a 53-43 decision in Lafayette, La. The meeting between Pietri and Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Garry Brodhead will be the second between the two coaches.

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