Ladyjacks Enter SLC Tournament as the Fifth Seed
3/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 9, 2009
After wrapping up the 2008-09 regular season with a 15-13 (.536) overall record and a 10-6 (.625) Southland Conference mark, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks enter the 2009 State Farm SLC Championship tournament as the No. 5 overall seed. The Ladyjacks enter the tournament having won seven of their last 10 games, but are coming off a 65-51 setback against Texas-San Antonio. For a second consecutive season, the Ladyjacks will open the conference tournament against the No. 4 seed Lamar. The game is slated to tip off at 8:30 p.m. from the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The fourth-seeded Lady Cardinals enter the tournament with a 19-10 (.655) overall record, and an 11-5 (.688) conference mark. If the Ladyjacks advance to the semifinals, they will face the winner of the No. 1 Texas-Arlington vs. No. 8 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi match-up. The other half of the bracket consists of third-seeded Southeastern Louisiana versus No. 6 Northwestern State, and second-seeded Texas-San Antonio against No. 7 seed McNeese State. The SLC Championship game will be played Saturday at 2:05 p.m., and will be televised on the SLC TV Network, and ESPN Full Court. All tournament games will be played at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
The Ides of March: The Ladyjacks enter the 2009 State Farm SLC Championships looking to win their 16th SLC tournament title and make their 19th appearance in the NCAA Championships.
Been There, Done That: The 2009 SLC tournament marks the 22nd consecutive trip to the conference playoffs for SFA. In fact, SFA has advanced to the league tournament every year since joining the league.
Dejá Vú: The Ladyjacks will face Lamar in the opening round of the 2009 SLC Championships. It marks the second consecutive season that SFA has entered the tournament as the fifth seed. It also marks the fourth consecutive season that the Ladyjacks will open the tournament against Lamar. Wednesday's game will mark the first time in the history of the SLC tournament that the same two schools have met in the opening round of the tournament in four-straight years.
The 800-Win Club: The Ladyjacks became the sixth member of an elusive club with their 73-40 victory over Sam Houston State last season. 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 week with a victory over Jacksonville State.
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 821 wins. The Ladyjacks are also among the all-time top 10 with a .717 winning percentage (821-324).
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 49 players named All-SLC.
Being the Five Seed: The 2009 State Farm SLC Championship tournament marks the second consecutive, and second time overall, that SFA has entered the tournament as the fifth seed.
SFA vs. the No. 1 Lady Mavs: The Ladyjacks are 41-15 (.732) all-time against Texas-Arlington, but the Lady Mavs have found some success recently. UTA has won six straight, and 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two schools. The lone SFA victory during that stretch came during the 2005-06 season when SFA notched a 39-35 win in Arlington. The Ladyjacks are 5-3 (.625) all-time against UTA in the SLC Championships. The two schools met in the 2007 title game with Texas-Arlington recording a 68-47 win. The Lady Mavs recorded a 76-65 decision over SFA in the lone meeting between the two schools this year.
SFA vs. the No. 2 Roadrunners: The Ladyjacks 31-8 (.795) all-time against Texas-San Antonio. The Ladyjacks have dropped four of the last five meetings between the two schools, including the regular-season finale last week. SFA is a perfect 3-0 all-time against the Roadrunners in the SLC tournament.
SFA vs. the No. 3 Lady Lions: The Ladyjacks are 22-2 (.917) all-time against Southeastern Louisiana, including a sweep of the 2008-09 series. The Ladyjacks have won five consecutive meetings in the series. The Ladyjacks are a perfect 2-0 all-time against SLU in the conference tournament.
SFA vs. the No. 4 Lady Cardinals: The Ladyjacks are 40-6 (.870) all-time against Lamar, but have struggled in the series lately. The Ladyjacks have dropped three straight, and four of five in the series, including an opening-round loss in the 2008 SLC Championship tournament. The Ladyjacks are 2-1 (.667) all-time in the tournament against Lamar. The 2009 tournament is the fourth consecutive season that the Ladyjacks and Lamar will face each other in an opening round game.
SFA vs. the No. 6 Lady Demons: The Ladyjacks are 45-17 (.726) all-time against Northwestern State, but split the season series. The Ladyjacks have won four of the last five in the series. The Ladyjacks are a perfect 8-0 all-time against Northwestern in the conference tournament.
SFA vs. the No. 7 Cowgirls: The Ladyjacks are 39-8 (.830) all-time against McNeese State, and have won five of the last six meetings in the series, including a sweep of the 2008-09 series. The Ladyjacks have never faced McNeese State in the Southland Conference Championships.
SFA vs. the No. 8 Islanders: The Ladyjacks are 6-2 (.750) all-time against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and have won the last six meetings between the two schools. The Ladyjacks are 1-0 all-time against the Islanders in the conference tournament.
SFA in Opening Round Games: The Ladyjacks are 17-4 (.810) in opening round games of the SLC tournament. SFA has won two of the last three opening round games.
SFA in Televised Games: The Ladyjacks are 16-11 (.593) all-time in televised games.
All-SLC: Junior Whitney Cormier was named to the 2009 All-SLC first team. Cormier led the Ladyjacks averaging 12.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game, but she really stepped up her play in conference games. She finished fifth in the league in scoring (15.4 ppg) and 14th in rebounding (6.4) in conference only games.
POTW: Junior Whitney Cormier was also named SLC Player of the Week once during the 2008-09 season. She received the honor after scoring a career-high 26 points against, and pulling down eight rebounds against Northwestern State. She followed that up with a 23-point outing at McNeese State, as SFA posted a 2-0 recording during the week.
Stepping Up Down the Stretch: Junior Whitney Cormier has turned into a go-to player for the Ladyjacks. She led the team in scoring averaging 12.2 points per game on the season, and is among the league's top five in scoring during conference only games (15.4 pg), but she picked it up a notch down the stretch. Cormier scored in double figures in 12 of the team's final 13 games, and scored at least 20 points three times during that stretch.
Double-Double: Sophomore Ebony Alexander recorded a career-first Saturday night against Texas-San Antonio. The Dallas, Texas, native, scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to recorded her first-career double-double.
Double-Doubles, Part II: The Ladyjacks have recorded five double-double efforts on the season. Junior Whitney Cormier leads the team three, while sophomore Ebony Alexander, and freshman Amina Sawyer each have one.
Career-High: Despite playing the point guard, sophomore Ebony Alexander was huge on the glass for the Ladyjacks against Texas-San Antonio. Alexander recorded a career-high 10 rebounds against the Roadrunners. It marks the eighth time this season a Ladyjack has recorded double-figure rebounds in a game.
Making History: Senior Jessica Gaines is attempting to close out her SFA career by leaving her mark on the Ladyjack record books. Gaines needs only one more triple to move to 11th on the school's all-time list. She currently has hit 54 career three-pointers.
The Defense Doesn't Rest: The Ladyjack defense dialed it up a notch in the victory over Central Arkansas. The Ladyjacks allowed a season low 46 points to the Sugar Bears. It was the fewest points scored by a Ladyjack opponent since holding Sam Houston State to 40 last season.
Up Next ... If the Ladyjacks win the 2009 SLC Championship tournament they will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The tournament selection show be Monday, March 16. The show will begin at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
