Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston State
Ladyjacks Halt Bearkat Win Streak
1/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Ladyjack basketball team put a stop to the best Southland Conference start in Sam Houston State women's basketball history on Wednesday, putting three players in double figures and picking up its second straight league win, 70-63, at Willliam R. Johnson Coliseum.
SFA (6-12, 3-2 SLC) led nearly the entire game and has now won 54 of the 60 all-time meetings between the schools. It is the first consecutive wins for the Ladyjacks this year and puts them just a game and a half behind Sam Houston (11-9, 5-1 SLC) for the top spot in the SLC West. The Bearkats were were looking to go to 6-0 in Southland play for the first time in school history.
For the second straight game it was Jordan Ford leading the way for the Ladyjacks, putting in 14 of her game-high 19 points in the first half; however, it was the bench that proved to be the difference on Wednesday as the Ladyjack reserves outscored the Sam Houston's extras 27-6, including 11 points and nine rebounds - five offensive - from freshman Cheyenne Berry. That help from the bench aided the Ladyjacks in overcoming a season high 25 turnovers, as did a 20-for-25 effort at the foul line and a 48-27 advantage on the glass.
Tammara Marion finished with 17 points and five assists, while Ebony Alexander found success in the second half with dribble penetration and finished with seven points and four assists in just 15 minutes. Toni Davis logged 19 minutes off the bench as well and provided a presence in the paint, finishing with eight boards and five points.
SFA started off hot offensively, scoring the first six points of the game and racing out to a 10-2 lead behind three buckets from Ford. But Sam Houston answered with a 10-0 early run of its own, sparked by two of Britni Martin's three triples to take a 12-10 lead nearly eight minutes into the game. But that was the biggest lead of the night for the Bearkats as Marion pumped in her only trey of the evening two possessions later to give SFA a lead it would not relinquish until early in the second half.
The Ladyjacks kept the Bearkats at bay for the majority of the first session, building the lead to 30-22 on a three-point bucket from Chelsea Foy and eventually getting two free throws with under 20 seconds remaining from Ford to take a 32-27 lead into the break.
But Sam Houston clawed its way back into the mix early in the second half, quickly drawing even at 36 apiece on three straight free throws from Khamra Echols and finally taking the lead when Clarke Davis nailed a 14-foot jumper from the short corner; however, after the teams traded baskets on the next two trips down the court, the Ladyjacks put together an 11-3 run that gave them the lead for good. Berry was the catalyst for the rally, scoring eight points in the spurt, including a three-point bucket from the right wing on a feed from Alexander that pushed the lead to 49-43.
SFA continued to be aggressive against the Bearkat defense and hit 14 of 19 tries from the free throw stripe in the second half, including 10 for 13 in the final 10 minutes of the contest to help secure the win.
The Ladyjacks go for their third win in a row on Saturday when they travel to Corpus Christi to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the American Bank Center. Tip is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
-SFA-
