Ladyjacks to Face Northwestern State Thursday
1/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2005
NACOGDOCHES - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team heads into its Southland Conference opener against Northwestern State after finishing the non-conference slate with a 6-5 (.545) overall record. The Ladyjacks entered the 2004-05 season facing the nation's 12th-toughest non-conference slate. The Lady Demons come into Thursday's game with a 5-6 (.454) overall record and have lost three straight and four of their last five. The Ladyjacks are coming off a 75-62 setback against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but have won five of their last seven games.
The Coaches: SFA head coach Lee Ann Riley is 54-43 (.557) in her fourth season with the Ladyjacks. She is 185-101 (.647) in her 10th season overall. Northwestern State head coach Jennifer Graf is 5-6 (.454) in her first season as the Lady Demons head coach.
SFA vs. the Lady Demons: The Ladyjacks are 40-15 (.727) all-time against Northwestern State. Although the Ladyjacks have dominated the series, the Lady Demons come to Nacogdoches riding a two-game win streak over SFA after sweeping the season series last year. The Ladyjacks have dropped three of the last four games against Northwestern State but have won 10 of the last 15 meetings.
Tradition of Winning: The SFA Ladyjack basketball program has been one of the most dominant programs in women's basketball history. The Ladyjacks are among the nation's all-time top-10 with 744 wins. The Ladyjacks are also among the all-time top 10 with a .737 winning percentage (744-265).
Tradition of Winning in the SLC: As dominant as SFA has been nationally, they have been just as dominant in the Southland Conference. The Ladyjacks are the conference's most dominant team, compiling a 258-32 (.890) all-time record. SFA has won 14 of a possible 17 SLC tournament titles. SFA has also recorded four undefeated seasons in league play and has had 38 players named All-SLC.
Home Sweet Home: The Ladyjacks are one of the nation's all-time winningest teams at home, with an all-time record of 326-82 (.799). The Ladyjacks have now won 60 of their last 73 games at home and are 3-1 (.750) in the William R. Johnson Coliseum this year.
Getting the Start: Junior Kendria Smith was inserted into the Ladyjack starting lineup against the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders. It was the first start of the season for Smith, who started 17 games last season.
Leading the Way: After two consecutive games of scoring less that double figures, junior LaToya Mills returned to the top of the Ladyjacks scoring column in Corpus Christi. Mills finished the game with a team team-high 15 points and eight rebounds. She is currently third in the Southland Conference averaging 15.3 points per game and fifth in the league averaging 7.9 rebounds per contest.
Showing Improvement: After shooting below 52 percent from the free-throw line in four-straight games and having the lowest free-throw percentage in the league, the Ladyjacks are starting to turn things around from the charity stripe. SFA was a season-high 14-of-16 (.875) from the free-throw line in the victory against Georgia State. The Ladyjacks followed that up with a 12-of-19 (.632) performance against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Simpson: Sophomore Jennifer Simpson is slowly becoming another offensive weapon for SFA head coach Lee Ann Riley. In the Tulane/DoubleTree Classic, Simpson came off the bench to score 21 points and grab 13 rebounds, including a career-high 15 points and nine rebounds against the Green Wave. She was named to the all-tournament team for her performance. Simpson continued her strong play in Corpus Christi scoring 11 points, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out three assists and recording three steals. She is averaging 10.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals over the team's last three games.
Up Next ... The Ladyjacks will kick-off a three-game conference road swing beginning Thursday Jan. 13, when they travel to Monroe, La., to take on the Lady Indians in a 5:30 p.m. showdown. SFA will return to action two days later to face rival Sam Houston State. The game against the Bearkats is slated to begin at 4 p.m., from the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
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