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Women’s Basketball: Veal, Wilridge Named To All-Sun Belt Conference TeamNEW ORLEANS – After helping the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team to its best season since 2006-07, Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge were each honored as the duo was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Basketball Team in a release on Tuesday by the league office.
Both players were named to the third team, marking the first time since 2005 a pair of Ragin’ Cajuns were named to the postseason team.
Veal, a 5-foot-6 junior from Opelousas, averaged 13.8 points, 3.3 assists and 2.2 steals for Louisiana (18-11). She had four 20-point games on the season, highlighted by a season-high 24-point effort in a home win over Texas State. Veal, who ranked ninth in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring, sixth in steals and seventh in assists, added 22 and 20 points in SBC wins over Georgia Southern and 20 points at Troy.
Wilridge, a 5-foot-5 guard from Crowley, averaged 12.3 points for the Ragin’ Cajuns, a team-high 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a Sun Belt Conference-leading (and 19th nationally) 3.0 steals per game. Wilridge ranked 13th in the league in scoring, 13th in assists and was 10th in the league in minutes played per game (31.7).
Spearheading a defense that ranked fifth in the country in turnover margin (�7.0) and third in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense (59.2), Wilridge recorded a career-high eight steals (the most by a Sun Belt player in 2014-15) in a win against Sam Houston State. She added 18 points and seven assists in Louisiana’s first-ever win against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 22 and added 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals against nationally-ranked Mississippi State.
Louisiana, the No. 6 seed in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, will face third-seeded Troy on Wednesday in a 7:30 p.m. contest at New Orleans’ Lakefront Arena.
2015 Sun Belt All-Conference Teams
First Team All-Sun Belt Conference
Taylor Gault (UALR, Senior, Guard)
Maryah Sydnor (Appalachian State, Senior, Forward)
Aundrea Gamble (Arkansas State, RS-Junior, Guard)
Ronita Garrett (Troy, Senior, Forward)
Ashley Beverly-Kelley (Troy, Junior, Guard)
Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference
Ka’Nesheia Cobbins (UALR, Senior, Guard)
Alexius Dawn (UALR, Junior, Guard)
Sharnice Brooks (UL Monroe, Senior, Center)
Rebekah Van Dijk (UT Arlington, Freshman, Center)
Erin Peoples (Texas State, Junior, Guard)
Third Team All-Sun Belt Conference
Khadija Brown-Haywood (Arkansas State, Junior, Forward)
Jasmine Hunt (Arkansas State, Senior, Forward)
Keke Veal (Louisiana, Junior, Guard)
Kia Wilridge (Louisiana, Junior, Guard)
Breanna Hall (South Alabama, Senior, Guard)
2015 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year
Aundrea Gamble, Arkansas State
2015 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year
Ka’Nesheia Cobbins, UALR
2015 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year
Rebekah Van Dijk, UT Arlington
2015 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year
Joe Foley, UALR
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