Southland Weekly Basketball Update
3/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 21, 2001
Stephen F. Austin ran into a huge roadblock in the first round of the NCAA Women's Division I National Championship last Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.
The Ladyjacks, making their 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, were dominated by Rutgers and a hometown crowd of more than 4,000 in an 80-43 result. The Scarlet Knights extended their home-court winning streak to 16, thus ending SFA's season just one step into the "Big Dance."
All-America candidate Tasha Pointer set an NCAA women's tournament record with 18 assists, and Tammy Sutton-Brown added a career-best 25 points as fourth-seeded Rutgers (23-7) advanced to the second round of the West Regional over the 13th-seeded Ladyjacks.
Pointer's 18 assists broke the women's record of 17 set twice by Suzie McConnell of Penn State in the 1980s and matched by Melinda Schumucker of Texas Tech in 1998.
Her record-breaker came on a pass inside to Sutton-Brown in the closing seconds.
The Scarlet Knights jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back. After letting SFA close to 10-7, Sutton-Brown scored eight points in a 14-point run that gave Rutgers breathing room it never lost.
RU shot 57 percent to 30 for SFA. Karlita Washington added 19 points, and Pointer and Linda Miles had 12 apiece as Rutgers, an at-large selection from the Big East Conference, put on an awesome first-half performance in taking a 37-12 lead.
Latisha Prater led Stephen F. Austin with 10 points, followed by Nathesia Wright's nine points and six rebounds. The Ladyjacks' starting lineup could not get anything started, combining for just 24 points.
SFA entered the game with the nation's second-best scoring defense at 54.4 points per game, but Rutgers, which was seventh at 56.8, turned on the offense.
Winners of 12 regular-season title and 12 Southland tournament titles, Stephen F. Austin finished the season with a 26-7 overall record and an 18-2 mark in Southland Conference play.
For final standings and statistics, please visit the Southland Conference web site at www.southland.org
