Stephen F. Austin
Mcneese State
SFA Falls To Cowgirls In Overtime
2/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2011
LAKE CHARLES, La. - The Ladyjack's four game win streak came to an end on Saturday as first-place McNeese State picked up a 68-66 win in overtime at the Lake Charles Civic Center.
SFA (8-13, 5-3 SLC) got two free throws from Tammara Marion with just 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime, but after the Ladyjacks jumped out to a 64-60 lead after the first two possessions in the extra frame, the Cow girls (16-6, 8-1 SLC) answered with six straight points of their own and eventually got a jumper from Ashlyn Baggett with just under 12 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Free throws proved to be not only what got SFA into overtime, but was the Ladyjacks' demise with SFA hitting just 15-for-26 from the free throw stripe for the game, including missing each of its last four foul shot attempts in the final three minutes of overtime. The Cowgirls were 23-for-30 from the charity stripe.
"Free throws really were the difference today in both regulation and overtime and we missed a lot more than we needed," SFA head coach Brandon Schneider said. "We also had a turnover late in regulation when we had a chance to maybe get the win in overtime, and those are just mistakes that we can't make."
Marion led all Ladyjacks with 14 points, including 5-for-6 from the foul line, despite being hounded defensively all afternoon. Jordan Ford made it into double figures for the fifth straight game with 12 points, and Decreasha Goodner finished with 11 points off the bench. Toni Davis led all rebounders with a season-high 10 boards.
As for the Cowgirls, it was the Baggett twins that carried the load all afternoon. Both Ashlyn and Caitlyn Baggett finished with 20 points apiece, while Caitlyn had seven assists. The two also combined to hit 16-for-21 from the line.
The Cowgirls did not take the lead until the 12:52 mark of the second half on a three-point play from Markita Hull, but managed to keep the lead for nearly the rest of regulation. But the Ladyjacks never trailed by less than six points, and when Caitlyn Baggett missed a pair of free throws with 1:13 remaining in regulation that would have put McNeese up six points, it gave SFA the opportunity it needed.
SFA got a free throw from Marion and a layup from Davis to draw within a point at 59-58, and after Ashlyn Baggett hit one of two shots with 21 seconds remaining, Marion was able to draw a foul on the other end and converted both shots to knot the game at 60 apiece. The Ladyjacks forced a turnover and had a chance to win in regulation with 5.1 seconds remaining, but could not get a quality shot away.
SFA forced 13 turnovers in the first half in taking a 34-28 lead into the break. The Ladyjacks got a balanced scoring effort getting no more than six points from any one player in the first session. But McNeese's Baggett twins kept the Cowgirls close, combining for 20 points in the first half, including seven of eight from the free throw stripe.
The Ladyjacks trailed only after the first bucket of the game, using a 10-0 run that started with a three-point play from Amina Sawyer and ended with a triple from Cheyenne Berry at the 15:13 mark of the first half. Both Ashlyn and Caitlyn Baggett managed to keep it close for the Cowgirls, bringing McNeese back to within four points with under two minutes remaining in the half, but Decreasha Goodner forced a steak and finished with a left hand on a breakaway to give SFA some added momentum heading into the break.
"We started off really well with our decisions and we just didn't move the ball as well in the second half," Schneider said. "But a lot of that is a credit to them to really defended what we wanted to do very well."
SFA returns home on Wednesday when it takes on Nicholls at William R. Johnson Colsieum.
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