UL Women’s Basketball Takess On Texas St.: Preview & Keys To Victory

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun women’s basketball team returns to the hardwood on Saturday  afternoon, when coach Garry Brodhead’s squad travels to San Marcos, Texas to take on the Texas St. Bobcats in Sun Belt Conference action.

Louisiana, who fell to the UT-Arlington Mavericks, 73-54, 66-59, on Thursday, has lost six-straight, and currently stands at 10-11, overall, and 3-7 in Sun  Belt Conference play.

That 3-7 league mark puts the Cajuns in ninth place in the conference standings, five games behind the first-place Arkansas St. Red Wolves.

Texas St., who is 9-11, overall, and 6-3 in league play, has won three-straight, and four of their last five game.

Offensively, UL is currently seventh in the conference, scoring 64.4 points-per-game, while Texas St. ranks sixth, averaging 65.2 points a contest.

Defensively, the Cajuns rank second in the league, allowing 64.3 points-per-game, while the Bobcats are giving up 67.9 points a tilt,  which ranks fifth in the conference.

Louisiana is led by sophomore guard Sylvana Okde, who is averaging 11.6 points-per-game, while Texas St. is paced by senior center Ashley Ezeh, who  is scoring at a 13.5 points-per-game clip.

The Bobcats lead the all-time series, 4-2, including a 65-53 win over the Cajuns back on January 8 at the Cajundome earlier this year.

Tip-off time is scheduled for 2 pm.

Keys to victory:

If the UL women are going to snap their four-game losing streak, they’re going to have to play consistently on both sides of the floor. Still without the services of the injured Keke Veal, the Cajuns have fallen off in every aspect of their game since the injury, which is why they’ve lost six-straight games.

They’ve played well in spurts, but to snap the losing skid they’re going to have to put together 40 solid minutes of basketball.

When Louisiana has the ball, offensively, they have to protect the basketball, be patient, and find a way to hit some key shots. If they can shoot over 40%, they can come away with a victory.

The Cajuns shot 38% against Texas St. in the first match-up, but they allowed the Bobcats to shoot 55%. They’ll likely have to shoot it a little better, and defend better, to defeat the Bobcats on the road.

The Cajuns forced 20 turnovers in the first meeting, and if they can reach that number again, they can win.

Louisiana, who ranks first in the league in turnover margin, will have to use their pressure defense to their advantage once again. The Bobcats were bothered by the pressure in the first meeting, so the Cajuns will likely turn up the heat, defensively, once again.

The Cajuns will also have to have a better defensive effort against Ashley Ezeh, Texas St.'s leading scorer, who poured in 16 points in the first meeting, while pulling down nine rebounds. She's capable of having a big night, so the defense will have to limit her.

With Veal out, Louisiana is relying heavily on Sylvana Okde and Brooklyn Arceneaux to provide the bulk of the scoring. Somebody, along with those two, will have to step up and have a big game if the Cajuns are to snap that losing streak.

Okde and Arceneaux combined to shoot 3-of-11 from the floor against UT-Arlington on Thursday.They'll have play at, or above, a level that are more like their normally solid games, along with production from another source, if the Cajuns are going to bring back a victory.