Ladyjack Game Notes: Southland Conference Tournament
3/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2011
Southland Conference Tournament Notes
No. 3 Central Arkansas vs No. 6 Stephen F. Austin
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 • 2:30 p.m. (CST)
Leonard E. Merrell Center (5,500) • Katy, Texas
Radio: Q107.7 FM • TV: None • Online: www.southland.org
No. 2 Lamar vs No. 7 Northwestern State
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 • 12:00 p.m. (CST)
Leonard E. Merrell Center (5,500) • Katy, Texas
Radio: Q107.7 FM • TV: None • Online: www.southland.org
Ladyjacks
Record: 12-17, 9-7 SLC
Last 5/Streak: 3-2/W1
Coach: Brandon Schneider
Career: 318-89 (13th season)
At SFA: 12-17 (1st season)
SID: Ben Rikard
E-Mail: rikardbenja@sfasu.edu
Web: www.sfajacks.com
Sugar Bears
Record: 19-10, 11-5 SLC
Last 5/Streak: 4-1/W4
Coach: Matt Daniel
Career: 46-41 (3rd season)
At UCA: Same
SID: Josh Goff
E-Mail: jgoff@uca.edu
Web: www.ucasports.com
Cardinals
Record: 24-6, 12-4 SLC
Last 5/Streak: 4-1/L1
Coach: Lary Tidwell
Career: 89-38 (4th season)
At LU: Same
SID: Pat Murray
E-Mail: pat.murray@lamar.edu
Web: www.lamarcardinals.com
Demons
Record: 14-15, 9-7 SLC
Last 5/Streak: 3-2/W2
Coach: Jennifer Graf
Career: 100-107 (7th season)
At NWLA: Same
SID: MatthewBonnette
E-Mail: bonnettem@nwla.edu
Web: www.nsudemons.com
FOR STARTERS
With SFA splitting its two final regular season games, the Ladyjacks head into the State Farm Southland Conference Tournament as the No. 6 seed and will square off with the No. 3 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears in the 2:30 p.m. game on Tuesday at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The Ladyjacks have not won a game in the SLC Tournament since 2006 and would earn the program’s 19th NCAA Tournament appearance should they take the tourney crown.
LAST TIME OUT
The Ladyjacks erased a halftime deficit and came away with a win for the first time this year when trailing at the break and pulled out a 71-62 win over Northwestern State to secure the No. 6 overall seed in the tournament. Tammara Marion canned three threes on her way to 18 of 20 points in the second half, leading all scorers.
THE SUGAR BEARS
Central Arkansas hit 9-of-13 three-pointers and built an 11-point halftime lead, never trailing in the team’s first meeting on Jan. 29 in Conway. SLC Player of the Year Megan Herbert finished with 27 points and 18 rebounds in that contest, while Micah Rice led all Sugar Bears with five threes.
COVERAGE
All games this week can be heard live on Q107.7 FM with James Dixon on the mic for each game of the tournament. Live stats will be available for each game on www.southland.org, as will Tuesday’s opening-round game. Should SFA advance, both the semifinals and the finals of the league tournament will be aired on the Southland Conference TV Network.
UP NEXT
Should the Ladyjacks get the win on Tuessday they would take on the winner of the first semifinal game of the tournament between No. 2 Lamar and No. 7 Northwestern State, each of whom the Ladyjacks took on in the final two weeks of the season.
THE IDES OF MARCH: The Ladyjacks enter the 2011 State Farm Southland Conference Tournament looking to win their 16th SLC Tournament title, which would give them their 19th berth in the NCAA Tournament. SFA has never missed an appearance in the SLC Tournament, making it’s 24th consecutive appearance in 2011.
SFA AS THE SIXTH SEED: This will mark the second time SFA has ever been the No. 6 seed in the SLC Tournament, and only the fifth time in 24 appearances that the Ladyjacks have been seeded outside the top four slots. It is the second-lowest seed ever for SFA as the Ladyjacks were the No. 7 seed in the 2005 tournament. SFA’s only other appearance as a No. 6 seed was in 2004 when the Ladyjacks fell to UT-Arlington, 69-61, in the tournament’s opening round.
MILLENIUM MEMBERS: SFA got to watch on as a pair of Ladyjacks hit career milestones in consecutive games last week as senior Jordan Ford and junior Tammara Marion each went over the 1,000-point marks of their careers last week. They are the 24th and 25th players at SFA to do so for a career with Ford doing so as part of a 16-point effort at Lamar and Marion doing so in a 23-point outing against TAMUCC.
RECORD WATCHES: Tammara Marion eclipsed another Ladyjack record against TAMUCC as her third three-point bucket set a new single-season SFA record with her 64th of 2010-11. That bettered Dayna Reed’s mark of 63 that was set in the 1990-91 season, but it is still Reed who holds the career lead at SFA; however, that mark may not even stand through the end of this season. Marion currently has 171 triples for her career, which is second all-time and just seven back of Dayna Reed for first. When she reaches 178 for her career, that will also tie her with Reed and McNeese’s Ashley Perry for 10th all-time in the Southland Conference.
Ebony Alexander is also doing her best to try and move up SFA’s all-time rankings in nother category too. She pushed her way into SFA’s all-time top 10 in assists more than a month ago when she passed Lashinda Winters to crack the top 10. The senior now stands with 412 and is eight assists away from ninth on the list as former teammate Nikki Carr currently had 420 for her career.
HALFWAY THERE: Looking at the Ladyjacks’ wins this season, one thing that stands out is that they have led at the half in each of those games. Sixteen times SFA has held the lead at the break, with it coming out on top in the end 11 of those times. Conversely, the Ladyjacks are 1-12 this season when they go into the locker room behind on the scoreboard after picking up its first win of the season in that scenario when it erased a five-point halftime deficit in the regular season finale to knock off Northwestern State.
SENIOR NIGHT FOR SFA: The Ladyjacks had a pair of players honored in the SLC’s annual postseason awards announced on Monday as Tammara Marion was named to the all-SLC second team, and Jordan Ford was an honorable mention selection. It was Marion’s second time to be named all-SLC, having earned third team honors last year, while it was the first of any type for Ford.
GOODNESS GOODNER: Senior Decreasha Goodner was one of SFA’s seven-member senior class honored on Saturday and is putting togehter a career year as she bids adieu to her playing career. After averaging just over five points per game in her first three seasons, Goodner has flourished in Brandon Schneider’s system and is averaging 9.5 points a game with better than five rebounds this season. Much of that has come from an improved touch from beyond the arc as she is hitting at a 35.1 percent clip from distance and has buried 33 threes this year after hitting just 21 in her previous three seasons combined.
SCHNEIDER’S DEBUT SEASON: This season is marking the beginning of a new era in Ladjack basketball as Brandon Schneider is in his debut as SFA’s head coach. 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. SFA’s loss in his opening game is not an unusual occurence for new Ladyjack coaches as SFA’s previous coaches are now just 2-6 all-time in their debut game; however, with over 300 career wins to his credit.
SAWYER’S BLOCK PARTY: Through the first nine games of the season the Ladyjacks were ranked in the bottom five teams in the nation in blocked shots, having rejected just seven shots in those nine games with five of those being from junior post Amina Sawyer. But Sawyer earned her first start of the season against Arkansas State and doubled her season total with a career-high five rejections against the Red Wolves. Her presence on the court has sparked SFA in the blocks department overall as well with the Ladyjacks having blocked 49 shots in the 20 games since she entered the starting lineup, 36 of which are from Sawyer.
COUNT ON THE LONGBALL: SFA has made a three-point bucket in each of its last 59 games dating back to March 7, 2009, against UTSA when SFA went 0-for-14 from distance in a 65-51 loss to the ‘Runners. In fact, in that 59-game streak, SFA has hit multiple threes in every contest.
HELP ON THE WAY: Head coach Brandon Schneider and his coaching staff have been hard on the recruiting trail since their arrival, and the fruits of their labor are beginning to be revealed. SFA’s incoming recruiting class was recently ranked 35th in the nation by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. The class includes a pair of Division I transfers currently sitting out this season due to NCAA transfer rules - Ashlee Mells (Indiana) and Annette Davis (Kansas) - and five incoming freshmen. Four of the incoming freshmen - Kyaris Johnson (Mansfield Legacy HS), Ashley Bettis (Channelview HS), Daylyn Harris (Livingston HS) and Tierany Henderson (Austin LBJ) - were all recently nominated for McDonald’s all-America honors, while the fifth member - Brittney Matthew (Hightower HS) - is the starting point guard for the No. 9 team in Texas’ Class 5A.
-SFA-
