Louisiana Women's Basketball is returning home to the Cajundome for the remainder of December.

Beginning Wednesday, December 13 when a month-ending, four-game homestand starts with a 5:00 p.m. contest against Lamar.

Wednesday's outing is also the first of three remaining non-conference games for the Ragin' Cajuns prior to the start of Sun Belt Conference play which occurs when the homestand concludes on Saturday, December 30 vs. App State.

Louisiana (3-3) and Lamar (4-3) are meeting for the second straight season. The Cajuns seek to avenge a loss to the Cardinals last December in Beaumont and capture their first home win in the series since December 2004.

The Cajuns-Cardinals contest is the first half of a doubleheader with the Louisiana men's squad.

Admission to the game – and all UL Women's Basketball games throughout the entire season – is free and open to the public. Toys for Tots donations (toys only) are being accepted and can be placed in a collection box at the Cajundome front entrance, plus free Christmas cookie cutters will be given away while supplies last.

The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Acadiana region on 103.3 FM and 1420 AM and worldwide on the Varsity Network.

The Ragin' Cajuns seek to continue a trend reversal in the series begun by Lamar last season when the Cardinals' home victory on December 17, 2022 in Beaumont, Texas, broke a four-game win streak by the road team.

Louisiana, now with all 17 team members healthy and available to play, looks to build upon the momentum gained during a hard-fought battle at No. 7 LSU on Sunday (Dec. 10) in which the squad battled the Tigers to a first-half draw and limited them to their lowest first-half points total (28) of the season.

The Cajuns are also seeking to continue regaining rhythm, the Lamar contest marking the second of four games over a 10-day span, after just one regular season contest (Dec. 2 at UNO) prior due to a Nov. 19-Dec. 1 exhibition game break.

Tamera Johnson's 14-point and eight-plus rebound average is leading the Cajuns efforts thus far. Brandi Williams, back from injury that forced her out the past two seasons, has already knocked down 12 triples and is averaging 13.0 points per game. Third-year starting point guard Destiny Rice is shooting 44 percent and averaging nine points while Utah State transfer Tamiah Robinson leads with 14 assists and is second in rebounds (31).

Lamar is in the midst of a two-game losing streak after tough losses to two top-quality opponents in Nebraska and Texas A&M. Sabria Dean, the top scorer for both teams at TAMU finishing with 16 points, has scored double-figures in six of the seven games this season and leads the Cardinals in scoring with 15.6 per game. Defensively, Lamar mirrors the Cajuns having yielded less than 60 points four times and holding foes to 57.4 points per game.

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (3-3, 0-0 SBC) vs. LAMAR (4-3, 0-0 SLC)
Date / Time: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 / 5:00 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)

RADIO/TV
Radio: The GOAT 103.3 FM/1420 AM
Talent: Dawson Eiserloh (PxP)
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Dan McDonald (PxP), Byron Starks (analyst)

LIVE STATS/SOCIAL MEDIA
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsWBB | #GeauxCajuns

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Lamar leads, 42-22
In Lafayette: Lamar leads, 18-11
In Beaumont: Lamar leads, 20-10
At Neutral Sites: Lamar leads, 4-1
Streak: Lamar, +1
Last Meeting: Lamar, 65-50 (12/17/22 at Beaumont, Texas)

Series Notables
- 65th meeting all-time between the former conference foes; all but eight of the previous meetings occurred prior to the turn of the century in 2000.
- Last met at the Cajundome in November 2018.
- Road team has won four of the last five meetings.
- Lamar's win in Beaumont last December marked the first win by a home team in the series since Cajuns won a December 2004 matchup in Lafayette.
- From 1983-98, the two programs met annually as conference foes in the Southland Conference (1983-87), American South (1988-91) and Sun Belt (1992-98).
- UL is 2-3 vs. Lamar in the Garry Brodhead era.

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Garry Brodhead (Louisiana, 1980)
Record at Louisiana: 188-154 (12th season), Career Record: Same

LAMAR
Head Coach: Aqua Franklin (Texas A&M, 2009)
Record at Lamar: 58-63 (fifth season), Career Record: Same

STORY LINES
• The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball kicks off a month-ending, four-game homestand at the Cajundome on Wednesday, December 13 matching up with Lamar.
• Louisiana seeks to avenge a 65-50 loss to Lamar that was incurred last December in Beaumont – a game in which starting point guard Destiny Rice missed the final 31 minutes with injury.
• The Lamar contest is the first of three remaining non-conference games prior to the start of Sun Belt play on December 30 vs. App State.
• The final push in non-conference play - prior to the Christmas holiday break - includes a Sunday, December 17 contest with North Texas and next Tuesday's Education game vs. LSU-Shreveport (Dec. 19).
• The Cajuns are the healthiest they've been all season, with all 17 players now available to play.
• UL is seeking to continue to develop rhythm, Wednesday's game just the third regular season game in the past four weeks due to a two-week exhibition break from Nov. 19-Dec. 1.
• Louisiana plays inside the state's borders the remainder of December, continuing a trend in which 11 of the 12 playing dates (including exhibitions) prior to New Year's Day all occur in the Pelican State.
• All-SBC performer Lanay Wheaton (offseason surgery rehab) returned to play during the exhibition break.

QUICK HITS
• Tamera Johnson has hit double digits in points all six regular season games, averaging a team-best 14.3 points per game. She has two double-doubles to her credit (vs. Nicholls; at New Orleans).
• Brandi Williams' team-best 14 points at LSU marked her fourth straight game scoring double figures.
• Tamera Johnson and Brandi Williams are fueling the Cajuns' efforts, averaging a combined 27.3 points.
• Louisiana limited LSU to its lowest scoring output (28 points) in the first half of a game this season.
• ULM transfer Aasia Sam and freshman Uniyah Franklin made their season debut on Sunday at LSU.
• Lanay Wheaton was selected as a second team member on the 2023-24 Preseason All-Sun Belt team – her second straight preseason nod.
• Louisiana, three games away from a title last season, was picked sixth (6th) in the Sun Belt coaches poll.
• UL is receiving an added boost on offense with the return of 1,000-point career scorer, and three-point threat, Brandi Williams (missed all but four games the past two seasons with injury).
• Third-year starting point guard Destiny Rice tallied 50-plus assists and 200-plus points the previous two seasons and entered 2023-24 as the top free throw shooter (147 makes at 72 percent) during the time frame.
• Head coach Garry Brodhead, the lone coach in program history to reach 100 wins, is presently 12 wins away from recording his 200th win at Louisiana.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns welcome North Texas to the Cajundome on Sunday, December 17 as the team's four-game holiday homestand continues. Tipoff against the Mean Green is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

As part of this week's "Holiday Hoops" theme fans are encouraged to wear their favorite Ugly Christmas sweaters to participate in Sunday's festivities.

Following the UNT contest, Louisiana plays its final non-conference game prior to the start of Sun Belt play on December 30 – and before the Christmas holiday break – when the annual Education Game is held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 19 vs. LSU-Shreveport. Nearly 3,000 Acadiana-area students are expected to be in attendance for the field trip outing.