Ladyjacks Travel to San Marcos
2/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2006
The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team returns to action Saturday after a thrilling 77-68 victory over Texas-San Antonio in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. The Ladyjacks (17-7/11-2 SLC) have won two straight, and 12 of the last 14 games. SFA enters tonight's game tied atop the Southland Conference with defending co-conference champion Texas-Arlington. SFA will be facing a Texas State team that is currently 15-9 (.625) overall and sixth in the league with a 7-6 (.538) record. The Bobcats have been very tough at home in this season, recording a 10-2 (.833) record in Strahan Coliseum.
The Coaches: Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack head coach Lee Ann Riley is 77-61 (.558) in her fifth season with SFA. She is 208-119 (.636) in her 11th season as a head coach. Texas State head coach Suzanne Fox is 105-143 (.432) in her ninth season with Texas State. She is 222-176 (.559) in 14 seasons as a head coach.
SFA vs. the Bobcats: The Ladyjacks are 45-6 (.882) all-time against Texas State and have won 13 of the last 15 meetings between the two teams, including the last two consecutive. The Ladyjacks won the only meeting between the two schools last year, and have already recorded an 82-49 decision over Texas State earlier this season in Nacogdoches. SFA recorded a 91-68 victory the last time both teams met in San Marcos, Texas (2003-04).
Not Your Everyday Run of the Mills: Despite not recording a double-double for the first time in the team's last four games, senior LaToya Mills is making a push for conference player of the year honors. Mills currently leads the league shooting 54 percent from the field, is second in the league in scoring (16.7 ppg), is tied for tops in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and is fourth in steals, while only averaging only 28.3 minutes per game.
Career-High: Junior Charity Egenti scored a career-high 16 points in the Ladyjacks' victory against Texas-San Antonio. In her last two games, Egenti is averaging 14 points and 7.5 rebounds for SFA.
Providing a Spark: Junior Jennifer Simpson provided the Ladyjacks with an offensive spark Thursday against Texas-San Antonio. Simpson scored 10 points in the victory and also pulled down seven rebounds.
Magic Number: If the Ladyjacks win their final three games of the regular season, they will win at least a share of the 2005-06 Southland Conference title and the No. 1 overall seed in the SLC tournament. It would be the Ladyjacks first conference title since the 2001-02 season and its 14th overall. It would also give the Ladyjacks a 20-win season. If the Ladyjacks can win 20 games this season, it would be the first time since 2001-02, and the 25th 20-win season since the school started tracking results during the 1972-73 season.
Chasing the Record: Senior Kirby Killingsworth has an outside shot at becoming the school's all-time leader in three-point field goals. She is currently 16 behind all-time leader Dayna (Reed) Westbrook and needs to average 5.3 treys over the team's final three regular-season games to get the record.
-SFA-
