Troy Women Look to Bounce Back at UL Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana – The Troy women's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak snapped on Thursday, but Troy hasn't lost back-to-back games all season as it travels to UL Lafayette for a second-place battle on Saturday. The Trojans and Cajuns will tip off at 4 p.m. at the Cajundome in a game that will air on ESPN3.

In addition to being able to pull even with the Cajuns in the Sun Belt standings, Troy can also beat the league's top scoring defense for the second time in as many weeks. Links to the ESPN3 broadcast, live stats and a free live audio broadcast can all be found on TroyTrojans.com. Fans in Troy can also hear the game on WTBF 94.7 FM, while fans everywhere can follow on Twitter with @TroyTrojansWBB.

Troy (10-6, 5-2) led by 11 points early in the fourth quarter, but got outscored 27-14 while shooting just 4-of-18 in the final frame of a 77-73 loss at ULM on Thursday night. Not only was Troy's winning streak snapped, a streak of seven games with at least 75 points also ended.

Troy still leads the Sun Belt at 86.2 points per game, a mark that ranks third in the NCAA behind only UConn and Ohio State. The Trojans are also just two games removed from a 112-79 win over Texas State last Saturday, their fifth 100-point game of the season.

For the second time in two weeks, the Sun Belt's top offense will be facing its top defense as UL Lafayette allows just 55.2 points per game. On January 14, Troy beat UT Arlington, 88-71, after the Mavericks came in allowing just over 53 points per game.

Individually, Ashley Beverly Kelley leads Troy and the Sun Belt in scoring in all games (20.1 ppg) and in Sun Belt games (22.1 ppg). The reigning Sun Belt Student-Athlete of the Week scored 16 at ULM, but had just three in the second half.

Caitlyn Ramirez was the story at ULM as she posted a career-high 27 points with 16 rebounds, becoming the fifth Trojan with a double-double this season. Ramirez moved into ninth in the Sun Belt in scoring (13.4 ppg) and also ranks second with a 58.6 field goal percentage.

UL Lafayette (13-3, 6-1) comes into Saturday having won three straight games, including a 69-50 win over South Alabama on Thursday. The Ragin' Cajuns, with non-conference wins over Arkansas and Ole Miss, have only lost in league play to Arkansas State.

UL Lafayette not only leads the league in scoring defense, but the Cajuns also have the league's top turnover margin at +7.56 as they forced 21.1 per game and turn it over just 13.5 times per game.

Individually, a trio of senior guards lead the Cajuns as Keke Veal (15.6), Jaylyn Gordon (14.4) and Kia Wilridge (13.2) all rank in the Sun Belt's top 11 in scoring.

Troy and UL Lafayette will continue a very tight series, which Troy leads, 9-8. The Trojans are just 2-6 in Lafayette and 1-1 in the Cajundome, with the lone win coming last season. Troy also won at Trojan Arena last season, but the Ragin' Cajuns won in the Sun Belt Championships quarterfinal.

Following Saturday's game, Troy will return home to host rival South Alabama on Tuesday at Trojan Arena.

For more information on Troy women's basketball, follow the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram at @TroyTrojansWBB.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Beverly Kelley

Caitlyn Ramirez