Roberts, Matthew Named Preseason All-Conference
10/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
FRISCO, Texas - Stephen F. Austin women's basketball seniors Porsha Roberts and Brittney Matthew were each selected to the Preseason All-Southland Conference teams, the league office announced Tuesday.
Roberts makes the preseason team for the third consecutive season and is a first team pick for the second straight year, while Matthew earned second team recognition.
SFA was one of eight schools represented on the two preseason teams and one of only two programs to land two players on the squads. Northwestern State had a pair of players selected to the second team while Nicholls, Houston Baptist, McNeese State, Sam Houston State, Lamar and Southeastern Louisiana were each represented by one student-athlete.
A native of Waco, Texas, Roberts has collected a plethora of conference awards over the course of her career with the Ladyjacks. She was named SLC Freshman of the Year in 2012, Second Team All-Conference in 2013, and First Team All-Conference and SLC Defensive Player of the Year in 2014.
"Obviously we're going to rely on Porsha Roberts to do a lot of things, both offensively and defensively," said head coach Brandon Schneider. "We feel like she can impact the game in a real positive way on both ends but we also understand that's who our opponents are going to game plan for. We need to be good enough to have some counter-attacks to continue to involve her."
Roberts started all 36 games for the Ladyjacks last season and averaged a team-high 17.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. She led the squad with a .563 shooting percentage and logged the second-most minutes at 30.2 per contest. The 6-2 center recorded 20 or more points 13 times last season and scored in double digits in all but four games.
Roberts led the conference in offensive rebounds (153) and blocked shots (76) last season, ranked second in field goal percentage (.563), and finished fourth in scoring (17.0 ppg). Her 76 rejections were the second-most in a single season in program history. She enters her final campaign as the school's all-time leading shot blocker.
Matthew started the first 17 games for the Ladyjacks last year before being sidelined with a season-ending ACL injury. At the time of the injury, Matthew led the team in scoring with 12.2 points per game, tallying double digits in 12 of her 17 games played.
The 5-7 guard from Houston, Texas has been a centerpiece for SFA over her career, appearing in 81 games and making 48 starts. She grabbed one of only two open spots on the preseason All-SLC list that wasn't occupied by an automatic selection from last year's All-Conference team.
Schneider and the Ladyjacks will open the 2014-15 season with four consecutive home games, starting with Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. SFA starts conference play on Saturday, Jan. 3 against McNeese State and the 2015 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament will return for its eighth season at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas from March 12-15.
2014-15 Preseason All-Southland Conference Women's Basketball Teams
First Team
Porsha Roberts (Sr., C)* - Stephen F. Austin
Emani White (Jr., G)* - Nicholls
Shanice Steenholdt (Sr., F)* - Houston Baptist
Allison Baggett (Jr., G)* - McNeese State
Angela Beadle (Sr., C)* - Sam Houston State
Second Team
Dominique Edwards (Sr., F)* - Lamar
Keisha Lee (Jr., G)* - Northwestern State
Nanna Pool (Jr., F)* - Southeastern Louisiana
Janelle Perez (Jr., G) - Northwestern State
Brittney Matthew (Sr., G) - Stephen F. Austin
*2013-14 All-Southland Conference Selection
-SFA-
