Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Week 1)
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Standings
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Statistics
Cajuns Earn First SEC Win since 2006; Gordon Wins Student-Athlete of the Week
In the first full weekend of women's hoops the UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns came out firing and delivered perhaps the weekend's best win by a Sun Belt team with an 82-78 win over Ole Miss.
The score wasn't quite as indicative of the game as the Cajuns held a 66-49 advantage through three quarters, and held onto the lead as the Rebels made a valiant effort down the stretch.
The victory was the first for the Cajuns over an SEC school since Nov. 25, 2006 when they topped South Carolina, 83-68 in Columbia. The win also gave the Cajuns its seventh consecutive non-conference win dating back to last season.
UL Lafayette's Jaylen Gordon led the way with 29 points on 7-of-17 shooting (4-of-9 from three-point) from the floor. The 29 points for the Edgard, La., native tied her career high. Gordon's play earned the junior this week's Sun Belt Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week award.
Gordon's honor is the first for a Ragin' Cajun since Mercedes Johnson claimed the award on Feb. 15, 2010 and the first under Coach Garry Brodhead.
This week the Cajuns will play host to Southern of New Orleans on Thursday before traveling to Houston to take on the Cougars on Sunday.
Around the league there were some quality results as all but one team in the league opened up this past weekend. Troy's Amanda Mendoza, a transfer, made quite the debut for the Trojans as she recorded 12 assists and no turnovers in Troy's 103-72 win over West Alabama.
The 12 assists were the most by a Troy player in their debut since at least 1999-2000 when game statistics are first available. The Trojans also scored over 100 points for the seventh time under head coach Chanda Rigby.
Arkansas State, the top ranked team in the league according to the preseason coaches poll, opened up the 2015-16 campaign with a win over Tennessee Tech. Senior guard, Aundrea Gamble, posted a team high 18 points in the win as she began her quest for three-straight Sun Belt Student-Athlete of the Year honors.
Week two gets underway Tuesday night with the South Alabama Jaguars opening up the 2015-16 season at home against Spring Hill and the Troy Trojans looking to make it 2-0 on the young season as they travel to Birmingham to face Samford.
Recent Results
November 13 (Friday)
Liberty 74, Appalachian State 68
Georgia State 66, Kennesaw State 62
No. 5 Baylor 62, UT Arlington 20
Tulane 69, Little Rock 53
Troy 103, West Alabama 72
No. 13 Texas A&M 87, Texas State 50
UL Monroe 85, Louisiana College 42
November 14 (Friday)
Arkansas State 77, Tennessee Tech 55
November 15 (Friday)
Lipscomb 66, Georgia Southern 55
Texas State 52, St. Edwards 44
UL Lafayette 82, Ole Miss 78
LSU 61, UL Monroe 54
November 16 (Friday)
Alabama 93, Appalachian State 59
Upcoming Games
November 17 (Tuesday)
Troy at Samford 6:00 PM
Spring Hill at South Alabama 7:00 PM
November 18 (Wednesday)
Arkansas State at UT Martin 6:00 PM
LSU-Shreveport at UL Monroe 7:00 PM
LSU at Little Rock 7:15 PM
November 19 (Thursday)
ETSU at Appalachian State 6:00 PM
Georgia State at Tennessee Tech 6:00 PM
Southern-New Orleans at UL Lafayette 7:00 PM
November 20 (Friday)
South Alabama at Southern 5:30 PM
Georgia Southern at Mercer 6:00 PM
November 21 (Saturday)
North Texas at Texas State 2:00 PM
Morehead State at Georgia State 6:00 PM
Wichita State at Arkansas State 7:05 PM
November 22 (Sunday)
UL Lafayette at Houston 2:00 PM
Dillard at UL Monroe 2:00 PM
Fort Valley State at Troy 2:00 PM
* - Denotes Conference Game | All times central
WEEK 1 SUN BELT CONFERENCE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jaylyn Gordon
UL Lafayette | Junior | Guard
Last week in the Ragin’ Cajuns season opener at Ole Miss, Gordon tied her career high with 29 points to lead the Cajuns to an 82-78 win against the Rebels, their first win over an SEC opponent since November 25, 2006 (South Carolina). The Cajuns never trailed in the game. Gordon scored 19 of her 29 points in the first half, including 10 in the first quarter, helping Louisiana build a 20-point lead at halftime. She shot 41% (7-of-17) from the floor in 38 minutes, and knocked down 4 three-pointers. She hauled in six rebounds (tied for the team lead), dealt out three assists and came up with two steals. Gordon took a team-high 15 free throws, converting on 11 (73.3%). Gordon was named the College Sports Madness Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday for her performance against Ole Miss. She was the first Cajun to earn the honor since January of 2015 (Keke Veal).
PREVIOUS STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
11.17: Jaylen Gordon, UL Lafayette
AROUND THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE
Troy’s Mendoza Drops 12 Dimes
Amanda Mendoza, a sophomore junior college transfer, made quite a debut with Troy against West Alabama. The Miami native came off the bench and recorded 12 assists with no turnovers. In her 20 minutes, she also recorded four points. The 12 assists were the most by a Troy player in their debut since at least 1999-2000 when game statistics are first available. She is one of just four players in the nation to have 12 assists in a game this season, and she is the only one to do so with zero turnovers.
Hitting the century mark
Troy scored 103 points in its season opening win over West Alabama. It marked the first time in program history that the Trojans have scored 100 points in a season opener. The 100-point game was seventh in Troy’s four seasons under Chanda Rigby. It also gave Troy a 100-point game in its fourth straight season for the first in program history. Under Rigby, the Trojans have scored 100 points in seven games. Prior to her arrival Troy had last scored 100 in a game in 1996-97, a span of 441 games between 100-point efforts.
Cajuns Top Rebels
The win over the Rebels was the first in five tries in the series history and marked the first win for the Cajuns program over an SEC opponent since November 25, 2006 (at South Carolina). Junior guard Jaylyn Gordon tied her career high with 29 points in the victory to lead UL Lafayette. Gordon earned College Sports Madness Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday for her performance against the Rebels. UL Lafayette had three players score in double-figures (Keke Veal -18, Kia Wilridge- 12) and also received 17 points from the bench.
USA Set to Open Season
With a 21-point exhibition win, South Alabama has now won 16-straight exhibition games, dating back to the 2000-01 season. Last season, the Jaguars captured a 58-26 exhibition win over William Carey at the Mitchell Center. Prior to its 2013 exhibition win over Mobile, USA had won 11-straight exhibition contests over West Florida.
UTA in WNIT
UT Arlington was unable to get anything going against national-ranked Baylor in the first round of the Preseason WNIT, falling 62-20. UTA’s defense was able to hold Baylor to just its second lowest scoring output in the last three seasons. The Mavericks look to rebound when it hosts the consolation rounds of the WNIT this Friday and Saturday at College Park Center. McNeese State and Dartmouth open up action on Friday at 5 p.m., while the Lady Mavs face Jacksonville at 7:15 p.m. It is the first all-time meeting between the programs. The winners will meet in the consolation final on Saturday.