Holiday Hoops in New Mexico
11/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2009
After protecting their home floor in the first two games of the season, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team will hit the road for the first time this season. The Ladyjacks will be in Las Cruces, N.M., Friday and Saturday to compete in the Aggie Hotel Encanto Classic. The Ladyjacks will look for their third consecutive win Friday when they face Michigan (3-1). SFA will be back on the court Saturday to face SIU-Edwardsville. The Cougars enter the tournament looking to end a three-game slide. Both games are slated for a 6 p.m. start from the Pan American Center.
SFA vs. the Wolverines: The Ladyjacks are 0-1 all-time against Michigan. The lone meeting between the two teams came during the 2000-01 season when Michigan recorded a 74-49 victory.
SFA vs. the Cougars: Saturday's meeting between SFA and SIU-Edwardsville will be the first time the two schools have met on the court.
Double-Double2: Junior Jordan Ford has had a great start to the 2009-10 season, and it appears she favors the Ladyjacks' new offense. The Carrollton, Texas native has recorded consecutive double-doubles to open the 2009-10 campaign. Following her 16-point, 10-rebound outing against North Texas, Ford returned to the court a week later to score 16 points and pull down 11 rebounds.
Looking To Go 3-0: When the Ladyjacks step on the court to face Michigan Friday, they will be looking to go 3-0 to start a season for the first time since 1998-99. Should SFA get by the Wolverines, the Ladyjacks would return to the court 24 hours later searching for their first 4-0 start since the 1991-92 season.
Built Ford Tough: Junior Jordan Ford has opened the 2009-10 season by recording back-to-back double-doubles. It is the first time a Ladyjack has recorded back-to-back double-doubles since Whitney Cormier on Jan. 28 and 31 of last season.
Twenty Something: Senior Whitney Cormier recorded the team's first 20-point game of the season. Cormier scored a game-high 24 points in the team's come-from-behind victory over Rice. It is the first 20-point game for a Ladyjack since Cormier scored 23 at McNeese State last season. The 24-point outing was only two points under Cormier's career high.
Tale of Two Halves: The Ladyjacks' offensive struggles, in terms of shooting percentage, appeared to be continuing for a second consecutive game as SFA shot only 10-of-36 (.278) in the opening half against Rice. SFA turned things around in the second half connecting on 21-of-36 (.583) shot to finish the game at a 43-percent clip.
Catching Fire: After a slow first half, the Ladyjacks came out of the locker room on fire in the second half. SFA connected on 21-of-36 (.583) to rally from a 13-point deficit to beat Rice. It is the Ladyacks first half shooting better that 50 percent since they knocked down 19-of-35 (54.3) against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last season.
The Defense Doesn't Rest: The Ladyjacks recorded 12 steals, and forced the Rice Owls into 23 turnovers last Saturday. The Ladyjacks made Rice pay for the miscues scoring 23 points off the turnovers.
Speed Limit 90: The Ladyjacks followed up their 81-point game to open the season against North Texas with a 92-point explosion against Rice. The Ladyjacks are averaging 86.5 points per game to open the season. That is the highest SFA production to start a season since the 1989-90 season. That year the Ladyjacks scored 177 points in their first two games.
Three-Point Threats: Following their season opener where the Ladyjacks knocked down only two three pointers, SFA followed that up with an onslaught of threes against Rice. The Ladyjacks finished the game 10-of-25 (.400) from beyond the arc against Rice. It's the most three-pointers by a Ladyjack squad since they knocked down 10 against New Orleans last season.
Charity Shots: The Ladyjack continue to be clutch at the free throw line. SFA has connected on 51-of-64 (.797) of its free throws to start the season.
Up Next ... The Ladyjacks will return to action Wednesday, Dec. 2, when they travel to College Station, Texas to take on No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies. The game against Texas A&M is slated to begin at 6 p.m. from Reed Arena.
