Trojans Set for Second-Place Battle With Cajuns

GM 23 >> Little Rock (11-11, 9-4 SBC) at Louisiana (16-6, 9-4 SBC)
Saturday, Feb. 13 • 2 p.m. (CST)
Lafayette, La. • Cajundome
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
Radio: Trey Schaap (PxP) on 920 AM
 
LITTLE ROCK – The team's winning streak is up to six, and Little Rock women's basketball will be playing for second place in the Sun Belt Conference on Saturday. The Trojans head to Lafayette to take on the Ragin' Cajuns with the No. 2 spot in the conference on the line.
 
TIP OFF

• Little Rock's winning streak is now up to six games, and the Trojans are tied for second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings for the first time all year.
• Saturday's game at Louisiana pits the two teams tied for second place in the standings. Saturday's winner will take over sole possession of second place.
• Shanity James has led Little Rock in scoring in four of the last five games and has scored in double figures in the last six games.
• Kaitlyn Pratt led the Trojans in scoring against ULM, putting up 20 points for just the second time this season. She shot an impressive 9 of 11 from the field in that game.
• The Trojans have outrebounded their opponent by at least 10 rebounds in eight of the last nine games.
• Louisiana defeated Little Rock by 7 points when the teams met in Little Rock in January.

 
ABOUT THE TROJANS
After a rough start to the season that saw the team go 2-7 in non-league play against a difficult schedule, the Trojans continue to improve every game as Sun Belt play goes into its second half. The Trojans are now on a six-game winning streak and are tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference standings with a 9-4 record. Little Rock held ULM to just four points in the first quarter on Thursday and never looked back, leading by as many as 26 points in a blowout win over the Warhawks. Kaitlyn Pratt had a team-high 20 points.
 
The Trojans are riding a huge wave of success over the last decade, making the national postseason for seven of the last eight seasons including four NCAA Tournament berths and three WNIT trips. Little Rock was picked third in the Sun Belt's preseason coaches poll and received two first-place votes.
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA

• The Ragin' Cajuns, based in Lafayette, La., hold a 16-6 record overall and are 9-4 in conference play. The Cajuns are tied with the Trojans for second place in the league standings.
• Louisiana is currently on a two-game losing streak, falling to Arkansas State on Thursday after losing in Boone, N.C., to Appalachian State the previous week. Before that, though, Louisiana had won six of its last seven conference games.
• Keke Veal is the Cajuns' leading scorer, putting up 15.6 points per game to place fifth in the conference in that category. Jaylyn Gordon is also scoring 14.9 points per game, and Kia Wilridge scores 12.2 points per game. The Cajuns' offense – 64.0 points per game – is fifth-best in the conference.
• Wilridge is the team's leading rebounder at 5.0 rebounds per game. Gordon's 3.9 assists per game is third in the Sun Belt.
• As a team, Louisiana's 55.6 points per game allowed is the best scoring defense in the conference.
• Garry Brodhead is in his fourth year leading Louisiana, and he has posted a 62-55 record in his time as a head coach.

 
THE SERIES AGAINST LOUISIANA
Thursday will be the 27th meeting all-time between Little Rock and Louisiana, and the Trojans have a dominant 17-9 edge in the series. Coach Joe Foley is 16-5 all-time against the Cajuns. When the teams met in January, Louisiana snapped the Trojans' long home conference winning streak, earning the team's first victory against Little Rock in six games. The Cajuns won that game 65-58.
 
A WIN AGAINST LOUISIANA WOULD…
…be the team's seventh straight win overall…put Little Rock six games above .500 in league play…give the Trojans at least 10 wins in league play for the last nine years…put Little Rock in sole possession of second place in the Sun Belt…be Joe Foley's 712th career win.
 
LITTLE ROCK VS. THE SUN BELT
In the last nine years, Little Rock has done a tremendous job in its conference games, claiming at least 12 victories in each of those years. The Trojans have not finished below .500 in the Sun Belt since the 2005-06 season, Joe Foley's third year. Little Rock also won the West Division Championship for six consecutive seasons when the league still had divisions. Over the last 10 seasons including 2015-16, the Trojans hold a record of 138-37 in the league and have claimed the outright regular-season championship once and the tournament championship three times.
 
PRATT SCORES 20
Junior Kaitlyn Pratt had one of the best offensive nights of her Trojan career on Thursday, scoring 20 points to lead the team. Her accuracy from the field was nearly impeccable as she made nine of the 11 shots she attempted. Pratt's season and career high of 21 points came at Arkansas State in January.
 
SMOTHERING DEFENSE
Little Rock already held a large lead at halftime over ULM on Thursday, but the Trojans put the game to bed in the third quarter with its staunch defense. Little Rock forced the Warhawks into shooting just 7.7 percent from the field in the third quarter, as the Warhawks went 1 of 13. After making its first shot of the quarter, ULM missed its final 12.
 
NO REST
Senior Alexius Dawn played all 40 minutes of the game at ULM on Thursday, marking just the fifth time this year a Trojan player has seen all 40 minutes of action. Sharde' Collins nearly played the entire game, getting just one short minute of a break as she tied a career high with 39 minutes played.
 
ACCURATE SHOOTING
Little Rock players Kaitlyn Pratt and Shanity James both rank in the top five in the Sun Belt Conference in field goal percentage this season. Pratt is fourth in the league with a .539 shooting percentage, and James is fifth with a .525 shooting percentage. In conference-only games, Pratt leads the Sun Belt with a .594 field goal percentage.
 
HELPING HANDS
In two of the Trojans' last three games, the team has out-assisted the opponent by more than 10 assists per game. Little Rock posted 16 assists to ULM's four on Thursday, and the Trojans had 18 assists to Troy's five on Jan. 4.
 
REBOUNDING MARGIN
On Thursday against ULM, for the eighth time in nine games, the Trojans outrebounded their opponent by at least 10 rebounds. The final tally against ULM was 41-24 in favor of Little Rock. In the last nine games, Little Rock has outrebounded its opponents 347-243 for an average of 11.6 rebounds more per game. In the 13 games before that, Little Rock was outrebounded by an average of 2.9 per game. Little Rock is 7-2 in the last nine games and was 4-9 in the first 13.
 
STAYING DISCIPLINED
Little Rock committed a season-low number of fouls on Thursday in Monroe, fouling the Warhawks just 13 times.
 
JAMES ON A SCORING ROLL
Shanity James has been on an amazing scoring streak of late, reaching at least 10 points in the last six games and leading the Trojans in scoring in all but the most recent. She had 22 points on Saturday against South Alabama, marking the fifth time this season she has scored at least 20 points. James has topped the Trojans in scoring in nine games this year and had a four-game streak during non-conference play. She has scored in double figures in 17 total games out of 20 she has played in.
 
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against ULM:

• Sharde' Collins got her 100th defensive rebound
• Kaitlyn Pratt got her 400th total rebound.
• Shanity James grabbed her 750th rebound.

Coming soon:

• Alexius Dawn is one steal away from 100 and 9 points shy of 600.
• Kaitlyn Pratt needs two more offensive rebounds for 200.
• Shanity James is 6 points away from 1,200 career points.

 
UP NEXT
The Trojans will stay on the road next week, heading to Georgia State on Thursday and Georgia Southern on Saturday. The game against the Panthers is first on Thursday and is set for a 4 p.m. central tipoff.