WKU set to play ULL in conference quarterfinal

Austin Lanter

After receiving a first-round bye in this years Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Lady Toppers will face Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday at 2 p.m. in Hot Springs, Ark.

WKU (20-9, 14-6 SBC) earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament.

ULL (9-20, 3-17 SBC) is coming off of a double-overtime victory against North Texas on Friday and beat the Mean Green as the 11th and last seed in the tournament. The win was the first time ULL has won a game in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament since 2007.

Both teams stumbled down the stretch a little with WKU losing its last two games and three of its last five while ULL had lost three in a row and also three of its last five before Friday.

The Lady Ragin’ Cajuns also did not have any players selected to the all-conference team this year while WKU boasts two players on the first team – sophomores Chastity Gooch and Alexis Govan. Gooch was also named the Defensive Player of the Year for the conference.

Govan has scored in double figures in every game this season and Gooch recorded 23 double-doubles this year, a new school record. The 23 double-doubles by Gooch is also one of the top-three marks in the country.

The Cajuns are lead by freshman Keke Veal with 12.6 points a game. Veal is one of four freshman who account for two-thirds of ULL’s points per game. She ended the season on a hot streak, scoring over 20 points three times in the last five games.

ULL also ranks fourth in the conference in turnover margin at +2.6 and had more turnovers than its opponents just seven times in 29 games this season.

The Lady Toppers are second in the conference in scoring offense this year averaging 68 points a game. The Cajuns are last in the league in scoring offense only averaging 56 points.

The two teams met twice this season, with WKU coming out victorious both times by a combined 30 points.