Ladyjacks Prep for Clash with Rice
11/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2009
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team will look to start 2-0 for the second consecutive season as they host the Rice Owls (0-1) Saturday. The Ladyjacks opened the season with an impressive 81-51 victory over North Texas. The Owls struggled in their season-opener dropping an 81-64 decision at Texas-Arlington. Rice will face No. 16 Texas A&M Wednesday before heading to Nacogdoches. The game against the Owls is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m. from the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Scheduled Doubleheader: Saturday's game against the Owls is a scheduled doubleheader with the SFA men's team, who host Jackson State. Last season the Ladyjacks played in three doubleheaders with the Lumberjacks posting a 2-1 (.667) record. Unfortunately, the Ladyjacks lone doubleheader loss came when the 'Jacks' hosted Jackson State in the first doubleheader.
SFA vs. the Owls: The Ladyjacks are 2-2 (.500) all-time against Rice. SFA won the first two meetings between the two schools, while the Owls have taken the last two. Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between the two school since the 2004-05 season when Rice recorded a 75-62 victory in Nacogdoches.
The 800-Win Club: The Ladyjacks became the sixth member of an elusive club with their 73-40 victory over Sam Houston State during the 2007-08. SFA became only the sixth women's program in NCAA Division I history to record 800 wins. The Ladyjacks joined Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, Texas and James Madison as the only schools to ever accomplish the feat. Making the victory more special was the fact that it was Sue Gunter Day on the SFA campus. Tennessee Tech joined the 800-win club last season.
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 822 wins. The Ladyjacks are also among the all-time top 10 with a .717 winning percentage (822-325).
Tradition of Winning in the SLC: As dominant as SFA has been nationally, they have been just as strong in the Southland Conference. The Ladyjacks are the conference's most dominant team, compiling a 308-62 (.832) all-time record. SFA has won 15 of a possible 22 SLC tournament titles and 14 regular-season titles. SFA has also recorded four undefeated seasons in league play and has had 54 players named All-SLC.
Riley vs. the SLC: Ladyjack head coach Lee Ann Riley has compiled a dominant record against Southland Conference foes. Riley is 93-43 (.684) against SLC teams during the regular season.
Home Sweet Home: The Ladyjacks are one of the nation's all-time winningest teams at home, with a 372-97 (.793) all-time record. SFA has won 41 of its last 53 games in the Coliseum. The Ladyjacks are 1-0 at home this season.
Double-Double: Junior Jordan Ford led the Ladyjacks with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over North Texas. It is only the second double-double of her career. Ford scored 25 points, and pulled down 14 rebounds against Grambling State during her freshman year.
Model of Consistency: Senior Whitney Cormier has picked up right where she left off last season. The Fort Worth, Texas native, scored 13 points pulled down six rebounds and recorded two steals in the Ladyjacks win over North Texas. Last season, Cormier averaged 12.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
Offensive Offense: It's hard to say the offense struggled when you score 81 points, and more importantly record the victory, but that is what happened in the Ladyjacks' season opener. SFA shot only 28.2 percent from the field, and still managed to score 81 points outscoring North Texas by 30.
Best Offense is a Good Defense: Despite shooting only 28 percent from the field in the season opener, the Ladyjacks attempted 33 more shots than North Texas. SFA had more attempts due to a swarming defense that recorded 15 steals and forced 29 turnovers. SFA held the Mean Green to a 13-of-52 (.250) shooting performance.
Career High: Sophomore point guard Cambria Smith recorded her fourth-career start Saturday and responded by dishing out a career-high seven assists.
Speed Limit 80: The Ladyjacks scored 81 points in the season opener against North Texas. Last season, the Ladyjacks averaged 64.3 points per game and reached the 70-point barrier only six times on the season. SFA scored at least 80 points in a game only four times in 2008-09.
Looking to go 2-0: The Ladyjacks are looking to start a season 2-0 for the second consecutive season, and for only the third time since 2000-01.
Cleaning the Glass: The Ladyjacks dominated the glass pulling down 65 rebounds against North Texas. SFA's season-high was 55 (vs. Nicholls) last season. The Ladyjacks were led by Jordan Ford's game-high 10 rebounds. Ford was one of five Ladyjacks who grabbed at least six rebounds, and one of three who grabbed at least 8.
Clutch Free Throw Shooting: The Ladyjacks took care of business at the free throw line against North Texas. SFA managed just under 70 percent from the free throw line last year, but opened the season by connecting on 83.8 percent of the charity shots against the Mean Green. The Ladyjacks' 31-of-37 performance at the stripe was only six makes shy of tying a school record (37 vs. Texas-Pan American, 1995).
Special Promotions: The Ladyjacks are sponsoring the Samaritan's Feet project at Saturday's game. Fans who bring a new pair of children's tennis shoes will receive free admission to the game.
Up Next ... The Ladyjacks return to action Friday, Nov. 27, when they travel to Las Cruces, N.M. to compete in the Aggie Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic. SFA will face Michigan Friday, and turnaround 24 hours later to take on SIU-Edwardsville. Both games are slated to begin at 6 p.m. from the Pan American Center.
