UL Women’s Basketball: Week In Review

UL sophomore forward Brooklyn Arceneaux

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun women's basketball team remains in the thick of things in the Sun Belt Conference, after winning one of two road games last week.

Coach Garry Brodhead's squad went to Mobile, Alabama last Wednesday, and knocked off the South Alabama Jaguars, 65-60.

That was the second-straight conference road win for Louisiana, and their third-straight road win, overall.

Brooklyn Arceneaux, who had a great road trip, scored a career-high 19 points in the win, while Kia Wilridge tallied a double-double, with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The key to the UL win was the 30 turnovers they forced. South Alabama out-shot the Cajuns, 43%-37%, and also finished with a 42-36 rebound advantage, but when you force 30 turnovers, while turning it over only 15 times yourself, that means you have 15 more opportunities to score. Louisiana took advantage, and came away with another big road win, their fourth of the year, which doubled their win total from just a year ago, and second in conference play, which is two more than they tallied all of last year.

On Saturday, Louisiana went to Troy and got knocked off by the Troy Trojans, 87-75, snapping their two-game win streak, and their three-game road win streak.

The Cajuns struggled from the floor, shooting only 29%, and were held without a field goal by Troy over the last 10:00 of the first half, missing 25-consecutive shots, as the Trojans built a double-digit lead.

Troy led by as many as 21 points, before UL cut it to ten points late in the second half, but that's as close as they would get.

It was a disappointing loss, as Troy won their first conference game, and snapped an 8-game losing streak, but when you play two games on the road, and come away with a win, it's a positive.

Arceneaux, after scoring a career-high 19 points against South Alabama on Wednesday, had another outstanding game against Troy, with 18 points and 11 rebounds. If she continues to produce like that the rest of the year, the Cajuns will be even better.

Sylvana Okde, who has shot the basketball well over the last couple of weeks, struggled somewhat, going 6-19 from the field, but still finished with a team-high 22 points.

The bottom line was that Louisiana didn't shoot well enough. They shot 29% from the field, compared to 54% for Troy.

So, the Cajuns came away from the Alabama swing with a win, and find themselves tied for second place with WKU, ULM, Georgia St., and Texas St., all at 3-2, only 1.5 games behind first place Arkansas St.

It's been awhile since Louisiana has been in second place five game into the conference campaign, while being four games over .500, overall, and with three of their next four games coming at home, they have a legitimate opportunity to stay near the top of the conference standings.