The Louisiana College men's and women's basketball teams departed bright and early Wednesday morning, 8 a.m. to be exact, for their longest road trip of the season, a five-day journey that will take the teams from Louisiana College on Wednesday to Howard Payne in West Central Texas on Thursday to Sul Ross State in the far west of the Lonestar State on Saturday and back to LC on Sunday afternoon.

In the interim both teams will face tough, American Southwest Conference foes beginning Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when the undefeated Lady Cats (4-0, 2-0 ASC) face Howard Payne (2-2, 0-2 ASC), a team LC beat twice last season en route to the ASC crown.

When last the Lady Cats and Lady Yellow Jackets met, LC defeated Howard Payne 68-55 in the semifinals of the ASC tournament.

This year, Howard Payne is off to a rough start in conference play having dropped an 87-68 decision to Texas Dallas and a 65-63 decision to Ozarks, but the Yellow Jackets are known for their ability to protect their home floor in ??, regarded as one of the liveliest gyms in the ASC.

Howard Payne is led by Katy Sarem, who is averaging 11 points per game, and Brittany Roberson, currently averaging 14 points per game in conference action.

The Lady Cats, who have won every game by at least 24 points and are coming off a 98-58 win over Texas Lutheran, have five players scoring in double figures, most notably senior Tillisha Givens.
Givens, a preseason All-American, is averaging 16 points, 11 rebounds and just under four steals per game.

Other early-season standouts for LC include Natosha Gottlieb (14 points, seven rebounds, just under three steals per game), Janet Butler (14 points and shooting 50 percent, 14-of-28, from 3-point range), Roslyn Wilmer (12 points) and Kayla Guidry (10 points, just under three steals per game).
On the men's side, both the Yellow Jackets and Wildcats enter the contest needing a win.

Howard Payne's men, who improved to .500 in conference with an 84-77 win over Ozarks earlier in the week, stand at 2-4 on the year with a 1-1 record in the ASC. LC, which fell 61-59 to Texas Lutheran Monday, is 2-3 overall with a 1-1 conference mark.

The Yellow Jackets are led by scoring machine Brandon Irwin, currently averaging 21.3 points per game and already boasting an 39-point outing versus Rhodes and 27-point showing against Rust College.
LC has been paced by Jarrod Jackson and Chukwuma Ekeh in the early season.

Jackson, a junior wing, leads the team in scoring and is averaging 17.2 points per game.

Ekeh, the Wildcats' lone senior and a post player, has been good for 14 points and seven rebounds per game.

Live, online stats will be available for both the women's and men's games on Thursday. Women's live stats will be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/hputx/mbball/index.htm while men's stats will be provided at http://www.sidearmstats.com/hputx/wbball/index.htm.