Conference Play Begins
12/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 27, 2002
NACOGDOCHES - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team heads to Monroe, La., to open Southland Conference play against Louisiana-Monroe. The game is slated to tipoff at 5:30 p.m., from Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Ladyjacks will be back in Nacogdoches two nights later to take on Southwest Texas. The game against the Bobcats is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., in the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
SFA vs. the Lady Indians: The Ladyjacks are 36-11 (.766) all-time against Louisiana-Monroe. SFA has won four of the last five meetings between the two teams, including sweeping the season series last year.
SFA vs. the Bobcats: The Ladyjacks are 41-4 (.911) all-time against Southwest Texas. SFA has won the last nine meetings between the two schools. SFA won both games last year, including a 59-57 overtime victory in San Marcos, Texas.
SLC Openers: The Ladyjacks are a perfect 15-0 in Southland Conference season openers. The Ladyjacks defeated Southwest Texas, 79-50, in last season's conference opener. SFA is 1-0 against the Lady Indians in SLC openers, which came during the 1989-90 season when SFA walked away with an 82-55 victory.
Home Sweet Home: The Ladyjacks are one of the all-time winningest teams at home, with an all-time record of 308-72 (.811), including a perfect 13-0 record in 2001-02. The Ladyjacks have now won 42 of their last 45 games in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. The last time SFA lost a home game in Southland Conference play was an 88-77 setback to Sam Houston State during the 1998-99 season. The Ladyjacks are 0-1 this season at home after dropping the home-opener to Auburn.
Career Milestone: Senior Nathesia Wright reached a career milestone against Oklahoma earlier this season. Wright scored her 1,000th career point with her third three-pointer of the game. Wright is the 21st Ladyjack to reach the mark. She currently has 1,016 career points.
Tradition of Winning: The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball program has been one of the most dominant in women's basketball. SFA is among the nation's all-time top 10 with 714 wins. The Ladyjacks are also among the all-time top 10 with a .755 winning percentage (714-232). Over the course of the past four seasons, SFA won 95 games. The 95 wins ranked 15th in the country during that stretch.
Tradition of Winning in the SLC: As dominant as the Ladyjacks have been nationally, they have been just as dominant in the Southland Conference. The Ladyjacks have been the conference's most dominant team, compiling a 234-20 (.921) all-time record. SFA has won 14 of a possible 15 SLC tournament titles and 13 regular-season championships. The Ladyjacks have also recorded four undefeated seasons in league play and have had 33 players named All-SLC.
Nacogdoches Block Party: Senior Amy Collins has become one of the school's all-time top shot blockers. She has recorded 22 blocks this season and leads the Southland Conference at 3.1 blocks per game. She is currently the school's all-time record-holder for blocks in a single game (7). She is also only the fifth Ladyjack to record 100 blocks for a career. She is currently fourth all-time at SFA with 106 career blocks.
Crashing The Boards: Freshman LaToya Mills leads the Ladyjacks in rebounding (6.9 rpg). Mills set a career-high with her 10 rebounds against Auburn. It is the first time Mills has recorded double-figure rebounds since the Ladyjacks defeated RTU Klondaika in the exhibition season. It is the second time during the regular season that a Ladyjack has recorded 10 rebounds (Amy Collins vs. Wichita State).
Team Effort: Throughout the season SFA head coach Lee Ann Riley has been calling for the Ladyjacks to get tougher on the boards. Against Louisiana Tech, the Ladyjacks showed their coach exactly what they could do. SFA pulled down a season-high 41 rebounds against the Lady Techsters to finish tied in that category. All nine Ladyjacks recorded at least two rebounds in the game, led by freshman Kim Branch's six.
Run of the Mills: Freshman LaToya Mills has had a significant impact for the Ladyjacks in only first season. Mills is currently 11th in the Southland Conference in scoring (10.7 ppg), fourth in the SLC in rebounding (6.9 rpg), 10th in field goal percentage (.449) and is seventh in the conference in offensive rebounds (2.71). Mills also leads the team in each of those categories.
Kirby's Dreamland: Freshman Kirby Killingsworth started her SFA career with a six-point, two-rebound and two-steal outing in 16 minutes of action at No. 16 (ESPN/USA Today Women's Top 25 Poll) Louisiana Tech. Killingsworth followed that up with a team-high 13 point outing against Auburn in the Ladyjacks' home-opener. She also set the tone on defense recording a game-high four steals.
Shooting the Three: The Ladyjacks attempted 27 three-pointers against Auburn. The 27 three-point attempts is only two shy of a school record set during the 1995 season against Alcorn State.
Senior Leader: Senior Yolanda Grant scored nine points and was the Ladyjacks' second-leading scorer against Auburn with her nine points. The nine points are a season-high for Grant and the most she has scored since an 11-point outing against Southwest Texas during the 2000-01 season.
More on the SFA Record Books: Senior Nathesia Wright is already among the Ladyjack top 10 in career three-point field goals. Wright hit a three-pointer against Auburn which gives her 81 for her career. The 81 three-pointers place her sixth all-time at SFA.
Looking Ahead ... The Ladyjacks will kick off the New Year with a game against McNeese State in Nacogdoches on Saturday Jan. 4. The game against the Cowgirls is scheduled to get underway at 6:15 p.m., from the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA will then travel to Thibodaux, La., to take on Nicholls State. The game against the Colonels is slated to tipoff at 5:45 p.m., from Stopher Gymnasium on Thursday Jan. 9th.
