WBB: Cajuns Welcome Home Alumni, Face Rematch with Troy
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team faces Troy in a rematch and celebrates the program's alumni during a 2:00 p.m. game on Saturday, January 20 at the Cajundome.
Saturday's contest is designated as the Ragin' Cajuns annual Alumni Game featuring a pregame tailgate from 12:00-1:30 p.m., an on-court recognition of alumni in attendance and a postgame Meet and Greet with the current team.
Louisiana (6-9, 2-4 SBC) and Troy (8-8, 5-1 SBC) are meeting just 11 days after squaring off in Troy, Alabama back on January 10.
Admission to the game – and all UL Women's Basketball games throughout the entire season – is free and open to the public.
The Cajuns-Trojans matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Acadiana region on The GOAT 103.3 FM and 1420 AM and worldwide on the Varsity Network.
UL is continuing its January-ending, four-game homestand which opened on Thursday, January 18 vs. ULM. A shorthanded Cajuns squad, with six players unavailable due to illness, nearly erased a double-digit deficit and were within one point of taking the lead several moments in the fourth quarter.
Louisiana seeks a reversal of fortune the second time around against Troy. The Cajuns incurred a disappointing 90-44 loss on January 10 in Troy, shooting just 31 percent while the host-Trojans shot 55 percent.
Tamera Johnson, who has scored double digits in 10 of her 13 appearances, averages a team-leading 12.6 points per game. The Lafayette native averages near five field goal makes on 46 percent shooting (62-of-135).
Brandi Williams follows closely with 11.1 points per game and sports a team-best 29 triples and the duo of Tamiah Robinson (29) and Destiny Rice (28) has 57 assists between them. Johnson tops the charts with 81 rebounds (24 offense, 57 defense) and is supported by a group of six others with 20-plus boards.
Troy enters the Cajundome riding a season-best, five-game win streak since dropping its SBC opener on Dec. 31 to Georgia State. The Trojans are led by the double-figure scoring quartet of Makayia Hallmon (16.8), Ja'Mia Hollings (13.1), Tai'Sheka Porchia (13.0) and Nia Daniel (12.2).
GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (6-9, 2-4 SBC) vs. TROY (8-8, 5-1 SBC)
Date / Time: Saturday, January 20, 2024 / 2:00 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
Series Record: Troy leads, 19-12
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 9-5
In Troy, Ala.: Troy leads, 11-2
At Neutral Sites: Troy leads, 3-1
Streak: Troy, +3
Last Meeting: Troy, 90-44 (1/10/24 at Troy, Ala.)
Series Notables
- Meeting for the 32nd time (15th time in Lafayette).
- All meetings have occurred since Troy joined the Sun Belt Conference in the 2005-06 season.
- Trojans hold a 16-11 advantage in SBC regular season games, grabbing the lead by winning seven of the last nine matchups since the 2018-19 season.
- Cajuns own a 9-5 edge over Troy in their hometown.
- It's been a split at the Cajundome the past decade, the two programs even at 4-4 in the Garry Brodhead era.
- Troy won both meetings last season in overtime.
- The 46-point winning margin for the Trojans on January 10 in Troy was the largest in the series.
THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Garry Brodhead (Louisiana, 1980)
Record at Louisiana: 191-160 (12th season), Career Record: Same
TROY
Head Coach: Chanda Rigby (Southeastern Louisiana, 1990)
Record at Troy: 217-139 (12th season), Career Record: 445-237 (20th season)
STORY LINES
• The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Basketball team returns to the Cajundome on Saturday, January 20 for the second outing of its January-ending, four-game homestand.
• Saturday's contest is against Troy, and it marks a quick rematch between the Ragin' Cajuns and Trojans who met back on January 10 in Troy, Alabama.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are holding their annual Alumni Game on Saturday featuring an on-court recognition of alumni in attendance at halftime.
• The current homestand began on January 18 vs. ULM, beginning a stretch where the Ragin' Cajuns are set to spend the remainder of the month of January at home in the Cajundome.
• Louisiana is back home following a 2-2 split of a four-game road trip that began the month of January.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are in search of their first home conference win of the season.
• Despite being shorthanded with six players out due to illness, UL nearly erased a double-digit deficit on Thursday vs. ULM, pulling within one point several times in the fourth quarter.
• UL seeks to avenge its largest margin of defeat in the Troy series incurred last Wednesday in Troy (L, 44-90).
• The Cajuns and Trojans are matching up for the second time over an 11-day span.
QUICK HITS
• Louisiana shot its Sun Belt-play best of 48 percent (23-of-48) in last Saturday's win at Arkansas State, and has shot 40-plus percent in four of the six conference games played so far.
• The career-high 25 points scored by Jaylyn James at Arkansas State marked the highest output by a Cajun this season and the most since Lanay Wheaton scored 26 points on January 1, 2022 at Texas State.
• In SBC play, Louisiana is receiving an average of 22.3 points per game from its bench.
• The one-point win at ASU was UL's fourth win (out of six) by six points or fewer.
• Tamera Johnson scored double digits the first seven games, leading her to a team-best 12.6 points average.
• Brandi Williams has converted 58 percent of her field goal makes from three-point range (29 of 50 total FGM).
• Tamera Johnson and Brandi Williams are fueling the Cajuns' efforts, averaging a combined 23.7 points.
• Louisiana, a member since 1991-92, is in its 33rd season of competition within the Sun Belt Conference.
• UL produced a 101-94 record in Sun Belt play over the first 11 seasons of the Garry Brodhead era.
• Louisiana, three games away from a title last season, was picked sixth (6th) in the Sun Belt coaches poll.
• UL has received 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 starter Destiny Rice tallied 50-plus assists and 200-plus points the previous two seasons.
• Head coach Garry Brodhead, the lone coach in program history to reach 100 wins, is presently nine (9) wins away from recording his 200th win at Louisiana.
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