Stephen F. Austin
McNeese State
McNeese Outlasts Ladyjacks
1/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2008
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Despite a 9-0 run late in the game, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team couldn't dig out of its foul trouble Saturday against a solid long-range barrage in a 68-60 loss at McNeese State.
The Cowgirls opened the game on an 8-0 run, but SFA fought back to take a five-point lead, 32-27, at the break. Foul trouble early in the second half put the Ladyjacks behind the eight ball, though, as starters Nikki Carr and Antoinette Davis were each forced to the bench with their fourth fouls.
McNeese exploited its opportunity with Carr and Davis on the sideline and moved out to an 11-point lead (54-43) at the midway point of the second half. The duo returned to the floor around the nine-minute mark in an effort to stop the bleeding, but picked up their fifth fouls within 20 seconds of one another, leaving SFA with a one-player bench for the final 8:30 of the game.
Immediately after Davis fouled out, though, the Ladyjacks rose up against the adversity for a 9-0 run. Ebony Alexander and Natashia Green led the charge with two buckets and a 3-pointer, respectively, to trim the lead down to two points, 54-52, with 3:30 to play. But McNeese State was money from the free throw line down the stretch to put the game away. The Cowgirls went 18-of-21 from the foul stripe.
McNeese State's 3-point game was the deciding factor. The Cowgirls shot a decent 33.3 percent from the floor but went 10-for-20 from beyond the arc, led by a 31-point performance by Courtnee Harris. Harris was 7-for-9 on 3-point attempts.
Alexander followed up her hot-shooting performance from Thursday's game by scoring 15 points to pace the Ladyjacks. Jordan Ford joined her in double figures with 10 points.
The Ladyjacks will return to action Saturday, Jan. 26, when they host Sam Houston State. The game is set for a 3 p.m. start and will feature a halftime ceremony in honor of women's basketball coaching legend and former SFA coach Sue Gunter.
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