Stephen F. Austin
Houston Baptist
Ladyjacks Overwhelm Houston Baptist
12/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2009
HOUSTON, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks took advantage of a strong defensive effort to rout Houston Baptist, 92-46, Saturday at Sharp Gym in Houston. The Ladyjacks forced HBU into 44 turnovers which they turned into 50 points at the other end of the floor. SFA improves to 5-2 on the season, while the Huskies fall to 2-7.
"Our press was very good today," said head coach Lee Ann Riley. "We felt coming into the game that we could be successful, and the ladies really proved it. I was very pleased with our intensity in the second half. When you have a big lead it can be hard to maintain your focus, but I thought we did a really good job of that. Our depth really allows us to keep up the pressure for a full 40 minutes.
"I'm really disappointed with our turnovers. Those mistakes came from us forcing the issue at times, but we settled down and kept our focus," added Riley.
The Huskies led by four, 15-11, with just over 13 minutes remaining in the opening half, but that is when head coach Lee Ann Riley dialed up the defensive pressure. The Ladyjacks utilized 25 first-half turnovers to spark a 17-0 run to build a 28-15 point lead. SFA outscored their hosts, 34-9, in the final 13 minutes of the opening half to take 45-24 advantage into the locker room.
The Ladyjacks made HBU pay for the mistakes with the basketball, while limiting the damage from their ownnturnovers. SFA converted the 25 first-half turnovers into 22 points. The Ladyjacks turned the ball over 11 times in the opening half, but allowed only five points from their mistakes. SFA finished the half, 16-of-45 (.356) from the floor, while the Huskies struggled from the floor (7-of-26/.269).
The Huskies had no answer in the second half as SFA pushed its lead to 37 points. SFA shot 42 percent from the floor, including eight three-pointers. Along with struggling to hang onto the basketball HBU could only manage a 14-of-53 (.264) shooting performance.
The Ladyjacks were led by four players in double figures. Senior Whitney Cormier led all scorers with 16 points. She also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, all of which came in the first half. Sophomore Courtney Conwright added 13 points, and a game-high eight assists. Junior Jordan Ford scored 12 points, and recorded seven steals, while classmate Decreasha Goodner added 10 points.
HBU was led by Dominique Mayberry's 10 points.
The Ladyjacks return to action Sunday, Dec. 20, when they travel to New Orleans, La., to take on Tulane. The game against the Green Wave is slated to begin at 2 p.m. from Fogelman Arena.
-SFA-
