Ladyjacks Invade the Roadrunner Nation
2/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2008
The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball will team enters Saturday looking to string together consecutive victories, coming off a 68-57 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Ladyjacks' (7-13/4-4 SLC) offense, which had been struggling throughout the season, saw some signs that it might be snapping out of it Wednesday. SFA knocked down 22-of-49 (.449) shots to record their best shooting percentage of the season. SFA jumped Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the standings Wednesday with the victory as they enter the day fourth in the SLC West. The Ladyjacks will look to keep the momentum headed in the right direction Saturday when they take on Texas-San Antonio at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners (14-6/6-1 SLC) are currently third in the SLC West, only a half game back of Texas State and Texas-Arlington.
Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack head coach Lee Ann Riley is 111-87 (.561) in her seventh season in Nacogdoches. She is 242-145 (.625) in 13 seasons as a head coach. Texas-San Antonio head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair is 127-96 (.570) in her ninth season with the Roadrunners. She is 234-140 (.626) in 13 seasons as a head coach.
The Ladyjacks lead the all-time series against Texas-San Antonio, 30-6 (.833). The two schools have split the last eight meetings, with the Roadrunners getting the upper hand last season taking the season series. UTSA recorded a 59-44 victory the last time the schools hooked up in the Convocation Center.
Despite some of the struggles that SFA has had offensively this season, they were not evident in Wednesday's victory over the Islanders. The Ladyjacks knocked down 22-of-49 (.449) shots, which is the team's highest output of the season. The Ladyjacks really began to heat up in the second half of the game, knocking down 12-of-22 (.545) shots in the final 20 minutes.
Senior Nikki Carr was key in the Ladyjacks' 11-point victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday evening. Carr knocked down 4-of-7 shots to finish with a team-high 15 points. She also grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds. It marks the third time this season that Carr has recorded a double-double.
Along with the Ladyjack offense, freshman Decreasha Goodner has seemed to rediscover her stroke as well. After scoring 21 points in each of the team's first two games, Goodner went through a stretch of 13 games without recording double figures, but she has now reached that mark in two of her last three games. During that stretch she is averaging 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
The Ladyjacks will remain on the road next week when they travel to Conway, Ark., to take on Central Arkansas. The game against the Sugar Bears is slated to begin at 7 p.m. from the Farris Center. It will mark the Ladyjacks first trip to Conway, Ark.
-SFA-
