SFA Hosts No. 14 Auburn
12/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2007
NACOGDOCHES - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team will look to make it three in a row when it hosts No. 14 (ESPN/USA Today Women's Top 25 poll) Auburn Monday, Dec. 17 in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. The Tigers (9-1) are coming off a two-point setback at No. 11 Texas A&M. The game against Auburn is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
The Ladyjacks are 0-2 all-time against Auburn. The last meeting between the two schools came during the 2002-03 season. Auburn recorded a 72-44 decision in the Ladyjacks' home opener. The only other meeting came during the 1983-84 season when the Tigers recorded an 85-61 victory.
The Ladyjacks recorded the program's 797th all-time victory with their 84-81 overtime win at Missouri. The Ladyjacks are now only three wins shy of No. 800. That victory would put SFA in some very elite company. Only five other NCAA Division I schools have recorded at least 800 wins. The list includes Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, Texas and James Madison. There is one other school that is on pace to record it's 800th victory this season. Tennessee Tech currently has 784 all-time wins.
The Ladyjacks did a good job of spreading the wealth in the victory over Missouri. Five Ladyjacks finished the game in double figures led by senior Nikki Carr's career-high 25 points. It marks the second time this season that SFA has had at least five players score in double figures.
Sophomore Whitney Cormier had been struggling heading into the CenturyTel Classic, but snapped out in a big way over the weekend. Cormier was averaging only 1.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in the team's three previous games, but she averaged 17 points and nine rebounds in the two games at Missouri, which including a career-high 13-rebound performance in the win over Alcorn State.
The Ladyjacks received two double-double performances against Alcorn State. Cormier led the charge with a season-high 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while senior Nikki Carr poured in 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. It is the first time two Ladyjacks have recorded a double-double in the same game since Carr and former Ladyjack Charity Egenti did it against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the SLC tournament semifinals last season. It is also the second and third time this season that a Ladyjack has recorded a double-double.
The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks' game against Missouri marked the 27th time in school history that SFA has played an overtime game. SFA is now 18-9 (.667) all-time in overtime games. It also marked the first time since the 2005-06 season that the Ladyjacks have played in an overtime game. SFA has now currently won its last three overtime games.
The Ladyjacks came to life from beyond the three-point arc Saturday against Missouri. SFA knocked down a season-high nine three-pointers and finished the game 9-of-18 (.500) from beyond the arc. The nine threes marks the highest output by a Ladyjack squad since it recorded 10 threes against Sam Houston State last season.
After knocking down only 10-of-35 (.286) shots in the first half against Missouri, the Ladyjacks rebounded in a big way during the second half. SFA shot 16-for-28 (.571) in the second half of the game, including a 5-of-6 (.833) clip from beyond the arc.
Carr has set the pace for the SFA offense over the course past few weeks. After scoring only six points in the season opener, Carr has responded by scoring in double figures in each of the team's past seven games. During that stretch she has recorded a double-double, and scored at least 20 points on two separate occasions, including a career-high 25 points against Missouri. During that six-game stretch Carr is averaging a team-high 15.9 points per game.
The Ladyjacks will be back on the court Thursday when they hosts Prairie View A&M. The Lady Panthers are 2-6 (.250) on the season but have played a tough non-conference slate in the early part of the season. The game against Prairie View A&M will begin at 7 p.m. from the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
