Game 16 - at Louisiana-Lafayette Game Notes (.pdf)LAFAYETTE, La. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will take on Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday afternoon before returning home. Tip-off against the Ragin' Cajuns is set for 5 p.m. at the Cajundome.
Live stats, the Jaguars' audio broadcast and web streaming of the contest versus Louisiana-Lafayette can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.
South Alabama (3-12, 0-6 SBC) come into Saturday's game after dropping its 10th-straight game, falling 63-42 at Texas State on Thursday.
The Jaguars cut the Bobcat lead to 25-23 less than four minutes into the second half, but Texas State answered back with a 7-0 run and then hit eight of its next 12 shots to extend its lead back out to double figures en route to the 21-point win.
South Alabama has struggled this season on the offensive end of the floor as the Jags have scored 53 points or less in seven of their last nine outings. USA is averaging just 54.9 ppg this season.
The loss to TSU extended USA's Sun Belt road skid to nine and was the 13-consecutive road loss overall for the program. Dating back to the end of the '12-13 season, South Alabama has also lost 21 of its last 22 outings away from the Mitchell Center. The Jaguars are also 1-14 in their last 15 league contest.
Breanna Hall continues to lead the team and ranks third in the conference in scoring in 16.2 ppg. The Mesquite, Texas, native also ranks among the league leaders in free-throw shooting (fourth – .833), three-point shooting (second – .423) and three-pointers per game (third – 2.4). She has also scored double figures in 24 of her last 28 games dating back to the '13-14 season and 12 times this year.
True freshmen Marquita Daniels (7.6) and Chyna Ellis (6.7) rank second and third, respectively on the Jag roster offensively. Ellis leads USA and ranks ninth in the SBC in rebounds with 6.9 per game. She is also tied for fourth in the league with 1.5 blocks per outing.
Louisiana-Lafayette (10-4, 2-3 SBC) enters the contest versus the Jaguars after picking up its second-straight conference win with a 69-57 victory at Georgia Southern on Thursday. The game versus South Alabama will be the first of three-straight home contest for the Ragin' Cajuns.
Keke Veal netted a season-high 22 points and ULL forced Georgia Southern into 22 turnovers. The game marked the ninth time this season that the Ragin' Cajuns have forced an opponent into 20 or more turnovers.
"Louisiana-Lafayette is a real scrappy team and they get after you on the defensive end of the floor," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "I expect them to want to pick us up full court. They want to create turnovers for their opponents in order to create some easy baskets for themselves at the offensive end of the floor. They do an outstanding job on the glass even though they are a bit undersized.
"We're going to have to take care of the basketball and use our size to our advantage and pound the ball in the paint. The biggest thing for us is that we can't turn the ball over and give them easy baskets."
UL-Lafayette ranks third in the conference in steals, averaging 10.3 per game. ULL also leads the Sun Belt in turnover margin (+1.6). Kia Wilridge leads the league individually in that category with 2.7 per outing, while Veal is seventh with 2.0 per outing.
Versus the Eagles, Veal had a team-best five steals with Jaylyn Gordon adding three to the Cajuns total of 10 steals.
ULL also ranks third in the conference in scoring defense (57.1) and three-point field goal defense (.291).
The Ragin' Cajuns have three players ranked in the top 16 of the league in scoring. Gordon's 13.9 ppg are eighth in the latest rankings, while Wilridge (12.9) is 10th and Veal (11.9) is 16th.
Gordon is also second in the SBC at the charity stripe, knocking down 84.9 percent of her attempts at the foul line, while Wilridge is ninth at 75.9 percent.
Gordon has also been a threat from beyond the three-point line as her 2.2 treys per game are fourth-most in the conference.
NOTES: The meeting between South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette will mark the 37th in the all-time series between the two programs. South Alabama holds a 34-12 advantage in the series. Louisiana-Lafayette won both meetings last season. The Jaguars hold a 14-8 lead in games played on ULL's home court. South Alabama will be looking to snap its nine-game Sun Belt Conference road game skid. USA has also lost 13-consecutive overall road games. Dating back to the end of the '12-13 season, South Alabama has also lost 21 of its last 22 outings away from the Mitchell Center. The Jaguars are also 1-14 in their last 15 league contest.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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