PRESS RELEASE
NEW ORLEANS – On Tuesday the Sun Belt Conference announced the 2018-19 conference schedule and for the fourth straight year Louisiana Women’s Basketball will open up Sun Belt Conference play with the Arkansas swing, before returning to the Cajundome to tipoff their home slate of conference games by hosting the Georgia schools.
MIRROR SCHEDULING: The Sun Belt Conference has decided to switch things up this season and go with a mirror scheduling format during the 2018-19 conference season. It is a change from the doubleheaders that the SBC has used for the past few years.
The mirror scheduling format means that when Louisiana Men’s Basketball is on the road the women will be playing at home. And the reverse is true for when the women are on the road, the men will be home.
SBC CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT: The Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Championships will be played in the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans for one final time this season, but the format has been tweaked just a bit from previous seasons.
The slight change is with the First-Round games, which will be played on Monday, Mar. 11. Instead of playing the two first round games at the Lakefront Arena, the games will be played at campus sites. In the No. 7 vs. No. 10 seed games, the seven seed will host. And the same can be said for the No. 8 vs. No. 9 seed game, with the eight seed hosting the game.
Following the First-Round games the championships will move to New Orleans starting with the Second-Round games on Wednesday, Mar. 13. There will be no break in-between games, like there has been in past seasons, with the Quarterfinals being played on Thursday, Mar. 14, the Semifinals on Friday, Mar. 15 and the Finals on Saturday, Mar. 16.
FIVE RETURNING: Head coach Garry Brodhead returns five players from the 2017-18 squad that finished 17-16 for the Cajuns fourth straight winning season, the best stretch in school history. The Cajuns made a deep run in the SBC Championships reaching the Semifinals for the fourth straight season, dropping a close game to the Texas State Bobcats, to finish the season.
Last season’s leading scorer, sophomore Skyler Goodwin, leads the returning five Cajuns for the 2018-19 season. Goodwin finished with 9.6 points per game and led the team in minutes with 32.0 minutes per game.
Junior guard Jasmine Thomas, last season’s team leader in assists with 59, averaging 2.6 assists per game, returns to run the point for the Cajuns. Thomas is joined by junior forward Kimberly Burton, second on the team last year in rebounds per game (4.7), sophomore center Ty’Reona Doucet, 5.1 points per game last season and sophomore guard Jomyra Mathis, who finished with 3.3 ppg., last season.
SEVEN NEW CAJUNS: Coach Brodhead refreshed his roster with seven new players, four freshman and three transfers. Freshmen Andrea Cournoyer, Brandi Williams, Diamond Morrison and Jazmyn Womack will all begin their collegiate careers this season. While junior’s Caroline Rivera and Kendall Bess, along with redshirt freshman Kristen Daniels, will all continue their careers in a Cajuns uniform.
FOURTH TIME IN ARKANSAS: Louisiana opens up their conference play in Jonesboro, Arkansas when they face the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. The Ragin’ Cajuns will then wrap up their first road swing of the conference season with a visit to the defending conference regular season and tournament champion Little Rock Trojans on Saturday, Jan. 5.
During the past three seasons, the Cajuns have gone 3-3 on their opening swing in Arkansas. With a 2-1 record against Arkansas State and a 1-2 record against Little Rock. Last season the Cajuns dropped their opening game against Little Rock before bouncing back to snag their second straight road win against the Red Wolves to open the 2017-18 conference season 1-1.
THREE GAME HOME SWING: For the second straight season, the Cajuns will return from Arkansas to play a three-game homestand to open up the Cajundome for conference play. Louisiana will welcome the Georgia State Panthers on Thursday, Jan. 10, before finishing the weekend hosting the Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday, Jan. 12.
Louisiana will then wrap up their conference opening swing at the Cajundome with in-state rivals, the ULM Warhawks, on Saturday, Jan. 19. Last season the Cajuns went 3-0 in the same three-game swing, including a win over the Warhawks to wrap up the stand.
AWAY AND HOME: Louisiana then begins a four-game stretch where they spend a weekend on the road before again returning to the Cajundome. The Cajuns start the stretch with a visit to Alabama, starting with South Alabama on Thursday, Jan. 24, before heading to Troy, Ala., to face the Troy Trojans on Saturday, Jan. 26.
The Cajuns then return to the Cajundome to host the Carolina schools over the first weekend in February. On Thursday, Jan. 31 the Appalachian State Mountaineers visit Lafayette. Louisiana has won four out of the last five matchups with the Mountaineers and they’ve never lost to App State at the Cajundome.
Louisiana then welcomes the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to the Cajundome for only the second time in history and second straight year, on Saturday, Feb. 2, to wrap up Louisiana’s quick weekend in Lafayette.
A TRIPLE THREAT ROAD TRIP: The Cajuns begin their longest stretch away from Lafayette on Thursday, Feb. 7 when they visit Statesboro, Georgia to take on the Eagles of Georgia Southern. Louisiana’s weekend in Georgia wraps up in Atlanta when the Cajuns visit Georgia State on Saturday, Feb. 9.
Louisiana then remains on the road, with a trip up to northern Louisiana during the next weekend. The Cajuns will visit Monroe, La., to take on ULM on Saturday, Feb. 16, wrapping up a three-game road trip to tipoff the second half of the 2018-19 conference schedule.
FOUR OUT OF SIX AT HOME: Louisiana wraps up the 2018-19 conference swing playing four out of their final six games at home. They’ll start their final stretch with UT-Arlington coming to Lafayette, on Thursday, Feb. 21. The Cajuns then wrap up their weekend hosting the Texas State Bobcats on Saturday, Feb. 23.
The Ragin’ Cajuns then begin their final road trip of the season, when they make the long trek out to the Carolinas for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Louisiana will begin their adventure to the east coast with a visit to Conway, S.C., and a matchup with Coastal Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 28. A visit to Appalachian State, on Saturday, Mar. 2, wraps up Louisiana’s 2018-19 slate of road games for the 2018-19 season.
Louisiana returns to the Cajundome to wrap up the 2018-19 regular season when, for the second straight season, the Cajuns host the Arkansas schools to finish the season. On Thursday, Mar. 7, the Little Rock Trojans come to Lafayette, followed by Arkansas State on Saturday, Mar. 9 to finish the regular season.
2018-19 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Schedule
Thursday, January 3
South Alabama at Appalachian State
Louisiana at Arkansas State
Troy at Coastal Carolina
Texas State at Georgia Southern
UTA at Georgia State
ULM at Little Rock
Saturday, January 5
Troy at Appalachian State
ULM at Arkansas State
South Alabama at Coastal Carolina
UTA at Georgia Southern
Texas State at Georgia State
Louisiana at Little Rock
Thursday, January 10
Georgia State at Louisiana
Arkansas State at South Alabama
Coastal Carolina at Texas State
Little Rock at Troy
Georgia Southern at ULM
Appalachian State at UTA
Saturday, January 12
Georgia Southern at Louisiana
Little Rock at South Alabama
Appalachian State at Texas State
Arkansas State at Troy
Georgia State at ULM
Coastal Carolina at UTA
Thursday, January 17
UTA at Arkansas State
Troy at Georgia Southern
South Alabama at Georgia State
Texas State at Little Rock
Saturday, January 19
Coastal Carolina at Appalachian State
Texas State at Arkansas State
South Alabama at Georgia Southern
Troy at Georgia State
UTA at Little Rock
ULM at Louisiana
Thursday, January 24
Arkansas State at Appalachian State
Little Rock at Coastal Carolina
Louisiana at South Alabama
Georgia State at Texas State
ULM at Troy
Georgia Southern at UTA
Saturday, January 26
Little Rock at Appalachian State
Arkansas State at Coastal Carolina
ULM at South Alabama
Georgia Southern at Texas State
Louisiana at Troy
Georgia State at UTA
Thursday, January 31
Appalachian State at Louisiana
Coastal Carolina at ULM
Saturday, February 2
Georgia State at Georgia Southern
Arkansas State at Little Rock
Coastal Carolina at Louisiana
Troy at South Alabama
Appalachian State at ULM
Texas State at UTA
Thursday, February 7
Texas State at Appalachian State
South Alabama at Arkansas State
UTA at Coastal Carolina
Louisiana at Georgia Southern
ULM at Georgia State
Troy at Little Rock
Saturday, February 9
UTA at Appalachian State
Troy at Arkansas State
Texas State at Coastal Carolina
ULM at Georgia Southern
Louisiana at Georgia State
South Alabama at Little Rock
Thursday, February 14
Georgia Southern at South Alabama
Arkansas State at Texas State
Georgia State at Troy
Little Rock at UTA
Saturday, February 16
Appalachian State at Coastal Carolina
Georgia State at South Alabama
Little Rock at Texas State
Georgia Southern at Troy
Louisiana at ULM
Arkansas State at UTA
Thursday, February 21
Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern
Appalachian State at Georgia State
UTA at Louisiana
Texas State at ULM
Saturday, February 23
Little Rock at Arkansas State
Appalachian State at Georgia Southern
Coastal Carolina at Georgia State
Texas State at Louisiana
South Alabama at Troy
UTA at ULM
Thursday, February 28
ULM at Appalachian State
Georgia State at Arkansas State
Louisiana at Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern at Little Rock
Troy at Texas State
South Alabama at UTA
Saturday, March 2
Louisiana at Appalachian State
Georgia Southern at Arkansas State
ULM at Coastal Carolina
Georgia State at Little Rock
South Alabama at Texas State
Troy at UTA
Thursday, March 7
Little Rock at Louisiana
Coastal Carolina at South Alabama
Appalachian State at Troy
Arkansas State at ULM
Saturday, March 9
Georgia Southern at Georgia State
Arkansas State at Louisiana
Appalachian State at South Alabama
UTA at Texas State
Coastal Carolina at Troy
Little Rock at ULM
2019 SUN BELT WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
First Round at Campus Sites
Monday, March 11
Game 1 – No. 10 Seed at No. 7 Seed, TBD
Game 2 – No. 9 Seed at No. 8 Seed, TBD
Second Round at Lakefront Arena
Wednesday, March 13
Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. No. 6 Seed, 11:30 AM
Game 4 – Game 2 Winner vs. No. 5 Seed, 2:00 PM
Quarterfinals at Lakefront Arena
Thursday, March 14
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. No. 3 Seed, 11:30 AM
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. No. 4 Seed, 2:00 PM
Semifinals at Lakefront Arena
Friday, March 15
Game 7 – Game 5 Winner vs. No. 2 Seed, 11:30 AM
Game 8 – Game 6 Winner vs. No. 1 Seed, 2:00 PM
Championship Game at Lakefront Arena
Saturday, March 16
Game 9 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 11:00 AM