Stephen F. Austin
Texas-Arlington
Ladyjacks Handed First Conference Loss
1/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2010
ARLINGTON, Texas - Stephen F. Austin dropped its first Southland Conference game of the season with an 86-79 decision at Texas-Arlington Wednesday evening. The loss dropped SFA to 8-7 on the season, and 3-1 in conference play.
"I was real unhappy with our defense tonight," said Riley. "We let Meghan Nelson have her way too many times offensively. We also struggled on the glass. We were able to get some runs offensively, but couldn't sustain the momentum."
UTA owned a seven-point lead early, 21-14, with 7:30 remaining in the first, but the Ladyjacks responded by going on a 13-2 run to take a four-point lead. SFA was able to push its lead to 11 points and appeared to be headed for a blowout win. Texas-Arlington was able to close the half with a run of their own to cut the SFA lead to one right before the half. Sophomore Courtney Conwright knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to give SFA a three-point lead heading into the locker room, 43-40.
Both teams shot better than 40 percent in the first half, while the Lady Mavs owned a slim advantage on the boards, 23-20. Both squads also relied on their leading scorers in the opening half as UTA's Meghan Nelson scored 19 points, while senior Whitney Cormier led SFA with 13 points, and eight rebounds.
The Ladyjacks opened the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 51-40 lead. Texas-Arlington began to chip away at the lead, and regained a one-point advantage, 60-59, with 13:14 remaining. The Lady Mavs were able to push their lead to six points, before Conwright nailed a three-point to cut the lead three, 76-73, with 3:16 remaining but could get no closer. After a Shalyn Martin free throw gave UTA a four-point advantage, Tammara Simmons finished the game with a steal and a layup to close out the scoring.
UTA was able to chip away at the Ladyjack lead by their strength in the paint. SFA was outscored, 44-14, and outrebounded SFA, 48-40.
SFA finished the game with four players in double figures, led by Whitney Cormier's 15 points and eight rebounds. Juniors Toni Davis and Ebony Alexander each added 13 points, while Decreasha Goodner chipped in 11 points.
The Lady Mavs were led by Nelson's 34 points, on 13-of-22 shooting.
The Ladyjacks return to action Saturday when they travel to Hammond, La., to take on Southeastern Louisiana. The game against the Lady Lions is slated to begin at 3 p.m. from the University Center.
-SFA-
