Ladyjacks Face SLC West Foe
2/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2010
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (14-9/9-3 SLC) find themselves in the thick of the Southland Conference race with two weeks remaining in the 2009-10 season. The Ladyjacks enter the final stretch run in a three-way tie for second in the conference race only a game back of Lamar. The Ladyjacks open the week with their lone regular-season meeting against Texas State (6-17/2-10 SLC). The Bobcats come into the week trying to claw their way into the SLC tournament picture, but are currently just out of the top eight. Wednesday's game is slated to begin at 7 p.m. from the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
SFA vs. the Bobcats: The Ladyjacks lead the all-time series over Texas State, 48-9 (.842), but SFA will be looking to reverse a recent trend. The Bobcats have won the last three meetings in the series. Texas State recorded a three-point victory, 70-67, the last time the two schools hooked up in Nacogdoches (2007-08).
Home Sweet Home: The Ladyjacks are one of the nation's all-time winningest teams at home, with a 378-99 (.792) all-time record. SFA has won 46 of its last 60 games in the coliseum. The Ladyjacks are currently 7-2 (.778) at home this season.
SLC Scenario: The Ladyjacks have already locked up a spot in the 2010 State Farm Southland Conference Tournament. SFA is now focusing on the regular-season title and No. 1 overall seed. If the Ladyjacks win their final four remaining games, they will do no worse than second place. To earn at least a share of the conference title, SFA needs to win out and have Lamar lose at least one of its final three games. For SFA to earn the league's top seed in the tournament, SFA needs to win out, and have Lamar drop two of its four remaining games.
Win Streak: With their victory over Southeastern Louisiana, the Ladyjacks have won three consecutive games equalling their longest win streak of the season.
Being Offensive: The Ladyjacks were 33-of-66 (.500) from the floor Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana. It is the highest field-goal percentage of the year, and the best since SFA shot nearly 51 percent against Central Arkansas last season.
Career High: Sophomore Courtney Conwright scored a career-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting against Southeastern Louisiana. She also connected on 4-of-7 three-pointers.
Triumphant Return: Sophomore Schera Sampson returned to the lineup for the first time Saturday in more than a month. Sampson came off the bench to score 10 points, grab six rebounds, dish out two assists and block one shot in 16 minutes of action. She finished the game 4-of-9 (.444) from the floor.
Bringing in the Reserves: The strength of the Ladyjack bench has become apparent over the course of the last couple of weeks. SFA's bench outscored the Lady Lions' reserves, 52-26, last Saturday. SFA's backups have outscored their opponents' bench by an average of nearly 16 points per game over the last four games.
Power at the Post: Junior Chantol Drennan is in the midst of one of the best runs of her career. Over the course of the last three games, she has come off the bench to average 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds while playing less than 14 minutes per game. She has scored in double figures twice during that stretch.
Arc Angels: SFA enters the week with 166 triples with four games still remaining. The Ladyjacks rank 25th in the nation averaging 7.2 threes per contest. The Ladyjack single-season record of 179 was set during the 2005-06 season. SFA needs to average 3.3 threes per game the rest of the way to break the current mark.
Millennium Club: Senior Whitney Cormier joined an exclusive club earlier this season. With her ninth point against Nicholls, Cormier became the 24th Ladyjack in school history with 1,000 career points.
Up Next ... SFA will then travel to Corpus Christi, Texas, Saturday to take the Islanders. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi enters the game with a 17-8 (.680) overall record and is currently tied with SFA for second in the conference race. Saturday's game is slated for a 7 p.m. start from the American Bank Center.
