# 2017–18 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team

The 2017–18 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Ragin' Cajuns were led by sixth-year head coach Garry Brodhead and played their double-header home games at the Cajundome with the men, and single games at the Earl K. Long Gymnasium, which is located on the university's campus. They were members in the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 17–16, 10–8 in Sun Belt play, to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Sun Belt women's tournament where they lost to Texas State.

## Previous season

The Ragin' Cajuns finished the 2016–17 season 20–11, 11–7 in Sun Belt play, to finish fourth in the conference. They made it to the 2016–17 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball championship game after defeating Louisiana–Monroe, Texas State and Little Rock in the first round, quarterfinals and the semifinals, respectively. They lost in heartbreaking fashion against Troy in the championship by the score of 64–78. The Ragin' Cajuns did not participate in post-season play.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jaylyn Gordon | 11 | G | 5'5" | Senior | Edgard, LA | Graduated |
| Gabby Alexander | 22 | F | 5'11" | Senior | Bogalusa, LA | Graduated |
| Breionne Cooper | 3 | C | 6'3" | Sophomore | New Orleans, LA | Transferred |
| Jodi Quinn | 15 | G/F | 5'7" | Junior | St. Martinville, LA | Transferred |
| Brooke Jolivette | 20 | G/F | 5'10" | Sophomore | Houston, TX | Transferred |
| Alex Weeks | 33 | C | 6'4" | Sophomore | Shreveport, LA | Transferred |

### Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Ty'Reonne Doucet C | Ville Platte, LA | Ville Platte HS (Ville Platte | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Jomyra Mathais G/F | New Orleans, LA | Landry Walker HS (New Orleans) | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Skyler Goodwin G/F | Baton Rouge, LA | Parkview Baptist HS (Baton Rouge) | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Louisiana 2017 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 31, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | LSU–Shreveport | W 86–48 | | 16 – Bayonne | 9 – Fields | 4 – Swain | Cajundome (269) Lafayette, LA |
| November 4, 2017* 2:00 p.m. | | Xavier (Louisiana) | W 59–50 | | 15 – Doucet | 11 – Fields | 3 – Swain | Cajundome (279) Lafayette, LA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | New Orleans Preseason WNIT first round | W 66–57 | 1–0 | 18 – Fields | 9 – Fields | 3 – Goodwin | Cajundome (692) Lafayette, LA |
| November 12, 2017* 2:00 p.m. | | at No. 20 Texas A&M Preseason WNIT quarterfinals | L 62–83 | 1–1 | 13 – Goodwin | 5 – Doucet | 4 – Jones | Reed Arena (2,867) College Station, TX |
| November 18, 2017* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Toledo Preseason WNIT consolation round | L 55–79 | 1–2 | 12 – Howard | 7 – Burton | 2 – Howard | Savage Arena (593) Toledo, OH |
| November 22, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | Dillard | L 53–60 | 1–3 | 14 – Williams | 10 – Burton | 3 – Mathis | Cajundome (658) Lafayette, LA |
| November 25, 2017* 1:00 p.m. | | vs. Niagara South Point Thanksgiving Shootout | W 68–52 | 2–3 | 13 – Jones | 6 – Burton | 3 – Mathis | South Point Arena Enterprise, NV |
| November 26, 2017* 3:15 p.m. | | vs. Cleveland State South Point Thanksgiving Shootout | L 45–54 | 2–4 | 15 – Williams | 8 – Burton | 1 – Howard | South Point Arena Enterprise, NV |
| November 29, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | vs. No. 6 Mississippi State Jackson Showcase | L 37–94 | 2–5 | 14 – Goodwin | 7 – Burton | 2 – Jones | Mississippi Coliseum (3,578) Jackson, MS |
| December 3, 2017* 5:00 p.m., CST | | McNeese State | W 98–86 $^{3OT}$ | 3–5 | 25 – Fields | 8 – Howard | 4 – Jones | Cajundome (753) Lafayette, LA |
| December 8, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | Auburn | L 60–70 | 3–6 | 17 – Williams | 5 – Burton | 3 – Williams | Cajundome (826) Lafayette, LA |
| December 13, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | at Southeastern Louisiana | W 68–56 | 4–6 | 19 – Fields | 10 – Doucet | 3 – Goodwin | University Center (549) Hammond, LA |
| December 17, 2017* 2:00 p.m. | | at LSU | L 45–60 | 4–7 | 12 – Fields | 7 – Doucet | 3 – Swain | Maravich Center (2,011) Baton Rouge, LA |
| December 20, 2017* 11:00 a.m. | | Alcorn State | W 67–47 | 5–7 | 16 – Doucet | 11 – Doucet | 4 – Burton | Cajundome (2,714) Lafayette, LA |
| Sun Belt regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2017 5:00 p.m. | | at Little Rock | L 43–78 | 5–8 (0–1) | 11 – Williams | 5 – Fields | 3 – Williams | Jack Stephens Center (1,688) Little Rock, AR |
| December 31, 2017 1:00 p.m. | | at Arkansas State | W 77–75 | 6–8 (1–1) | 25 – Jones | 8 – Swain | 4 – Swain | First National Bank Arena Jonesboro, AR |
| January 4, 2018 5:00 p.m. | | Appalachian State | W 61–45 | 7–8 (2–1) | 22 – Swain | 5 – Burton | 3 – Thomas | Cajundome (704) Lafayette, LA |
| January 6, 2018 4:00 p.m. | | Coastal Carolina | W 59–55 | 8–8 (3–1) | 17 – Goodwin | 6 – Burton | 2 – Thomas | Cajundome (582) Lafayette, LA |
| January 13, 2018 4:00 p.m., CST | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 63–55 | 9–8 (4–1) | 16 – Fields | 8 – Doucet | 2 – Thomas | Cajundome (711) Lafayette, LA |
| January 18, 2018 5:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Texas–Arlington | L 61–63 | 9–9 (4–2) | 17 – Fields | 7 – Fields | 2 – Williams | College Park Center (2,384) Arlington, TX |
| January 20, 2018 2:00 p.m. | | at Texas State | W 65–58 | 10–9 (5–2) | 19 – Swain | 9 – Burton | 3 – Thomas | Strahan Coliseum (3,222) San Marcos, TX |
| January 25, 2018 5:00 p.m. | | South Alabama | L 57–72 | 10–10 (5–3) | 16 – Jones | 8 – Burton | 3 – Jones | Cajundome (590) Lafayette, LA |
| January 27, 2018 4:00 p.m. | | Troy | L 55–62 | 10–11 (5–4) | 14 – Williams | 7 – Burton | 4 – Swain | Cajundome (3,087) Lafayette, LA |
| February 3, 2018 12:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 76–48 | 11–11 (6–4) | 13 – Thomas | 9 – Burton | 7 – Thomas | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (2,269) Monroe, LA |
| February 8, 2018 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Georgia State | W 75–60 | 10–11 (5–4) | 12 – Fields | 8 – Doucet | 9 – Thomas | GSU Sports Arena (363) Atlanta, GA |
| February 10, 2018 1:00 p.m. | | at Georgia Southern | W 58–48 | 11–11 (6–4) | 15 – Thomas | 10 – Goodwin | 5 – Thomas | Hanner Fieldhouse (572) Statesboro, GA |
| February 15, 2018 5:00 p.m. | | Texas State | L 53–56 | 13–12 (8–5) | 16 – Fields | 11 – Fields | 2 – Thomas | Cajundome (936) Lafayette, LA |
| February 17, 2018 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Texas–Arlington | L 34–38 | 13–13 (8–6) | 14 – Goodwin | 7 – Goodwin | 2 – Thomas | Cajundome (733) Lafayette, LA |
| February 22, 2018 5:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Troy | L 53–72 | 13–14 (8–7) | 12 – Mathis | 8 – Burton | 3 – Burton | Trojan Arena (1,429) Troy, AL |
| February 24, 2018 5:05 p.m. | | at South Alabama | W 59–56 | 13–15 (8–8) | 15 – Doucet | 8 – Swain | 2 – Mathis | Mitchell Center (1,946) Mobile, AL |
| March 1, 2018 5:00 p.m. | | Arkansas State | W 60–53 | 14–15 (9–8) | 12 – Goodwin | 7 – Doucet | 3 – Mathis | Cajundome (925) Lafayette, LA |
| March 3, 2018 4:00 p.m. | | Little Rock | L 62–73 $^{OT}$ | 15–15 (10–8) | 16 – Swain | 8 – Fields | 3 – Swain | Cajundome (691) Lafayette, LA |
| Sun Belt women's tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2018 7:30 p.m., ESPN3 | (6) | vs. (11) Georgia Southern First round | W 88–81 $^{3OT}$ | 16–15 | 28 – Goodwin | 10 – Doucet | 12 – Thomas | Lakefront Arena (628) New Orleans, LA |
| March 8, 2018 7:30 p.m., ESPN3 | (6) | vs. (3) Texas–Arlington Quarterfinals | W 54–48 | 17–15 | 20 – Swain | 7 – Swain | 4 – Thomas | Lakefront Arena (854) New Orleans, LA |
| March 10, 2018 5:30 p.m., ESPN3 | (6) | vs. (2) Texas State Semifinals | L 56–62 | 17–16 | 10 – Goodwin | 6 – Fields | 5 – Swain | Lakefront Arena (898) New Orleans, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source: