Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
Ladyjacks Knock Off Demons In Senior Night Comeback
3/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 5, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Ladyjack basketball team rallied from a poor offensive first half to erase a 30-22 lead and pull off a 71-62 win over Northwestern State in the regular season finale, and on Senior Night, at William R. Johnson Coliseum.
The win secures the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament for the Ladyjacks (12-17, 9-7 SLC) and a likely matchup with No. 3 Central Arkansas at the Merrell Center in Katy on Tuesday. Northwestern State (14-15, 9-7 SLC) will enter the tournament as the No. 7 seed and will be paired up with No. 2 Lamar.
SFA shot under 15 percent in the first half, but used an 11-0 run to open the second half to gain the lead and eventually pick up its first win of the season when trailing at the half. Junior Tammara Marion led all scorers with 20 points, including 18 in the second half, while Amina Sawyer finished with seven points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
The Ladyjacks used the free throw line to keep things close at the break, hitting 14-of-22 from the line after hitting just 4-for-27 from the field in the first period before shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor in the second half.
It took SFA less than two minutes to erase its halftime deficit as Decreasha Goodner, Marion, Jordan Ford and Sawyer each hit buckets to put SFA up 31-30. But it wasn't until Marion canned a three from the top of the key to give SFA a 44-43 lead at the 9:49 mark of the second half that the Ladyjacks took the lead for good. That was in the early stages of a 14-0 SFA run that gave the Ladyjacks a comfortable eight-point lead with less than seven minutes remaining.
Northwestern State clawed back to within three points at 61-58 after four straight foul shots, but that was as close as it would get as SFA had one final run left in its tank, with the dagger coming when Sawyer found Goodner for her second three of the half to put SFA back up eight with just 1:30 remaining.
The Ladyjacks and Sugar Bears will be in the 2:30 p.m. time slot in Katy on Tuesday from the Merrell Center with the winner taking on the winner of the No.2/No.7 game between Northwestern State and Lamar.
-SFA-
