Ladyjack Game Notes: at North Texas
11/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2010
North Texas Game Notes
Stephen F. Austin at North Texas
Friday, Nov. 12, 2010 • 7:00 p.m. (CST)
The Super Pit (10,500) • Denton, Texas
Radio: KNTU 88.1 FM (Denton) • TV: None • Online: KNTU.com
Ladyjacks
Record: 0-0
Last 5/Streak: n/a
Coach: Brandon Schneider
Career: 306-72 (12 years)
At SFA: 0-0 (1st season)
SID: Ben Rikard
E-Mail: rikardbenja@sfasu.edu
Web: www.sfajacks.com
Mean Green
Record: 0-0
Last 5/Streak: n/a
Coach: Shanice Stephens
Career: 20-42 (2 years)
At UNT: Same
SID: Steven Bartolotta
E-Mail: Steven.Bartolotta@unt.edu
Web: www.meangreensports.com
FOR STARTERS
A new era for Ladyjack basketball begins on Friday when Brandon Schneider leads the Ladyjacks to Denton for the 2010-11 season opener as the eighth head coach in Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball history. SFA is coming off claiming a share of its 23rd Southland Conference title in 2009-10 behind an 18-11 campaign that saw them go 13-3 in SLC play.
LAST TIME OUT
The last time SFA saw the court was in the first round of the 2010 WNIT at Creighton. SFA held a 38-35 edge at the end of the first half, but the Bluejays outscored SFA 41-27 in the second half to end the Ladyjacks' season. Tammara Marion was the only Ladyjack in double-figures, dropping in 24 points.
THE MEAN GREEN
UNT added seven new faces to a roster that went 9-22 overall last season and 5-13 in Sun Belt play for then second-year head coach Shanice Stephens. This will be the Mean Green's only home game for nearly a month as it does not play on the Super Pit floor again until Dec. 8 against Sam Houston State - a span of eight games.
vs NORTH TEXAS
SFA holds a commanding series lead over its former Southland Conerence rival, having won 29 of the 31 meetings between the teams; however, aside from an SFA forfeit in 1983-84, the only other time UNT has a win in the series came in the 2005-06 season by a 71-65 margin.
COVERAGE
Fans can tune into KNTU 88.1 FM online or in the DFW area to listen to the UNT radio broadcast.
UP NEXT
Just four of 13 non-conference games are scheduled for William R. Johnson Coliseum this season, with four of the first five games on the year on the road. The Ladyjacks will travel to Rice on Wednesday to take on the Owls at Tudor Fieldhouse before battling Tulane on Nov. 20 in the home opener.
SCHNEIDER'S DEBUT: Friday's game at North Texas will mark the beginning of a new era in Ladjack basketball as Brandon Schneider makes his debut as SFA's head coach. Taking over one of the most tradition-rich programs in Division I, Schneider is the eighth head coach in SFA history and comes to Nacogdoches on the heels of a 12-year career and a national title last season at Emporia State University in Kansas. With over 300 wins to his credit, Schneider will look to continue a trend of early success by SFA coaches as each of the last three SFA skippers have won no less than 22 games in their debut year. SFA's previous coaches are 2-5 all-time in their debut game.
PRESEASON POLLS: With just one starter lost from last season's SLC co-champions that went 13-3 in the league, one would assume that the Ladyjacks would be receiving plenty of respect around the league entering this year. The Ladyjacks did make the transition this year back into the SLC West Division and still managed to garner three first-place votes in the coaches poll and two more in the SID poll, but were still only selected to finish third in the division behind UTSA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
MARION PRESEASON ALL-SOUTHLAND: A third-team all-SLC selection as a sophomore last season, Tammara Marion was an easy choice for preseason all-SLC this year. The Houston junior was placed on the second team after averaging 12 points and nearly four rebounds per contest last year and leading the SLC in three-point percentage, hitting nearly 40 percent of her shots from behind the arc.
RECORD-SETTING ARC ANGELS: The Ladyjacks set a few offensive records during the 2009-10 season. SFA recorded 207 three-pointers on the season, shattering the previous record of 179. The Ladyjacks recorded a new single-game record for threes when they buried 13 against Lamar, and Tammara Marion tied a school record with her seven triples against Central Arkansas.
RECORD WATCHES: Last season sophomore Tammara Marion became the seventh Ladyjack to record 100 career three-pointers in the regular season, and after knocking down two triples at Creighton in the season finale she enters her junior season with 101. If she hits her career average again this year for three-pointers in a season she will move into the program's all-time top five with a year of eligibility remaining.
BRING `EM BACK: The Ladyjacks are bringing back 11 players off their roster, missing just two players from last season, including first team all-SLC guard Whitney Cormier. Putting it statistically, SFA will return 79.5 percent of its scoring from a year ago and 86.3 percent of of the team's rebounding.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: SFA was one of the top offensive teams in the country last season, finishing the year ranked seventh in the nation averaging 78.3 points per game. SFA was also very active on the defensive end ranking 16th in the country with an average of 11.2 steals per game. SFA also ranked 15th in the country in turnover margin (+5.54).
90-POINTS: The Ladyjacks scored at least 90 points five times last season, which was more than in the previous five years combined. It was the most 90-point outings by a Ladyjack squad since they recorded six during the 1997-98 campaign.
800-WIN CLUB: The Ladyjacks became the sixth member of an exclusive club with their 73-40 victory over Sam Houston State in 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 also joined the 800-win club in 2008-09.
WAITING IN THE WINGS: The Ladyjacks brought in a pair of D-I transfers in the off-season, but both will have to sit out the 2010-11 season before hitting the floor for SFA next season. Both Indiana transfer Ashlee Mells and Kansas transfer Annette Davis are Texas natives, with Mells playing her high school hoops at South Grand Prairie High School and Davis prepping at Bellaire High School in the Houston area. Mells was ranked as one of the top-100 players in the country out of SGHS, averaging better than 15 points per game in her prep career, while Davis joins her sister, Toni, on the SFA roster and averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds a game at BHS in her senior season.
