Ladyjacks Continue Home Stand With Warhawks
11/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game 3: Stephen F. Austin (1-1) vs. University of Louisiana at Monroe (1-0)
Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 21 • 7:00 p.m.
Site: William R. Johnson Coliseum
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@SFA_WBB (#AxeEm/#ToughAndTogether)
Team Information
Stephen F. Austin
Head Coach: Brandon Schneider (Wayland Baptist, 1995)
Career Record: 379-131 (17th season) | Record at SFA: 73-59 (5th season)
ULM
Head Coach: Jeff Dow (Oregon, 1988)
Career Record: 221-109 (12th season) | Record at ULM: 1-0 (1st season)
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team will play game three of the 2014-15 season on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. against ULM inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. The Ladyjacks come into the game at 1-1 while the Warhawks have won the only game they've played to date. It is the third contest of a four-game home stand to begin the season.
SFA earned its first win of the season earlier in the week on Tuesday night against Prairie View A&M in a complete team effort. Four Ladyjacks scored in double figures, including sophomore Taylor Ross who scored 24 points - her second 20-point performance in as many games. Senior Porsha Roberts turned in her second double-double of the year to the tune of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow senior Tierany Henderson also notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. Sophomore Brentney Branch chipped in 13 points off the bench in the 83-73 victory.
The Ladyjacks now turn their attention to ULM - a team that was picked to finish 11th out of 11 teams in the Sun Belt Conference this season. The Warhawks are 1-0 after defeating William Carey 68-35 last Saturday. Junior forward Alayshia Hunter led the team in both points (14) and rebounds (8) in the contest.
"I really have no idea what to expect to see from ULM," said head coach Brandon Schneider. "They have a new coach, they've only played one game and it was a game where they weren't sharing film. We're really going into it blind. It's one of those things where we're really going to have to focus on what we do and make adjustments throughout the game."
The Ladyjacks are 43-15 all-time against the Warhawks, although SFA lost to ULM 85-83 on the road last year on Dec. 8.
NOTES
• 2014-15 Opening Night - In a battle between two of the top five winningest programs in NCAA women's basketball history, sophomore guard Taylor Ross really shined on Nov. 15 against LA Tech. She poured in a career-high 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting while also dishing out a game-high five assists. Ross made her first seven shots from the floor and had 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting at the half, helping SFA take a 38-31 lead into the break. SFA couldn't hold off LA Tech in the end as the Lady Techsters went on an 11-2 run to end the game and steal the victory in the season opener.
• Protecting the Rim - In just two games this season SFA has already put up 14 blocks as a team. The Ladyjacks rejected six shots in the opener against LA Tech and denied eight more on Tuesday night against Prairie View A&M. Seniors Porsha Roberts and Tierany Henderson have six apiece for an average of 3.0 blocks per game.
• Preseason Favorites - The Ladyjacks were picked as the Southland Conference favorite in both the preseason coaches' and sports information directors' poll. SFA grabbed 11 first-place votes and 142 points in the coaches' poll and nine first-place votes and 137 points in the SID poll en route to a consensus selection to win their 17th conference championship in program history. The Ladyjacks' collection of 16 trophies is the largest in the SLC by 11.
• Roberts, Matthew Named Preseason All-SLC - SFA seniors Porsha Roberts and Brittney Matthew were each selected to the Preseason All-Southland Conference teams as announced by the league office on Oct. 28. 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.
• In the Record Books - Senior center Porsha Roberts and senior forward Tierany Henderson enter the 2014-15 season with their names already etched in a rich SFA history book. Roberts, the 2013-14 SLC Defensive Player of the Year, swatted 76 shots last season - the second best mark in program history - and is the school's shot block leader with 188 total blocks. Roberts also entered her final campaign fifth in career field goal percentage (.548) and second in free throws made (411) and free throw attempts (552).
A prolific three-point shooter, Henderson is well on her way to becoming one of the best outside threats in program history. She ranks fourth in three-pointers made (158) and three-point attempts (481) and is eighth with a .328 percentage from downtown. Also a defensive presence, Henderson is the eighth best shot-blocker in SFA history with 104 rejections.
• Reigning SLC Champs - The Ladyjacks are coming off a historic season, winning the program's 16th Southland Conference Championship after posting a conference record of 13-5. SFA finished the 2013-14 campaign with a 23-13 overall record and became the first team in school history to win three games in a postseason tournament, advancing to the finals of the Women's Basketball Invitational.
SFA defeated Texas State and Boise State at home during the WBI and bested College of Charleston on the road to make it to the title game where the Ladyjacks fell to Illinois-Chicago 73-64.
In his fourth year at the helm, head coach Brandon Schneider led his Ladyjacks to a 9-2 record to close the regular season, including a stretch of six straight wins leading up to the conference tournament. SFA overcame a five-game deficit in the Southland standings to tie Lamar for the regular season crown - the program's first title since 2010.
The Ladyjacks will look to bring back-to-back championships to Nacogdoches for the first time since the 2000-01/2001-02 seasons.
• Returners - SFA returns four players with significant starting experience from last season's squad. Included in that total is a healthy Brittney Matthew, who was sidelined after 17 games due to an ACL injury last year. The Ladyjacks return 10 letterwinners in all.
Porsha Roberts and Tierany Henderson join Matthew as the veteran leaders on the 2014-15 roster.
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 team with a .563 shooting percentage and logged the second-most minutes at 30.2 per contest. The Waco, Texas native recorded 20 or more points 13 times last season and scored in double digits in all but four games.
Roberts, a First-Team All-SLC selection last year, issued 76 blocks last year for the second-best single season block total 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 her season-ending injury. At the time of the incident, the guard led the team in scoring with 12.2 points per game, tallying double digits in 12 of her 17 games played.
Along with Roberts and Matthew, Henderson is part of Schneider's first recruiting class set to begin its final season. Henderson started all 36 games for SFA as a junior, averaging 8.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She led the team in minutes at 32.7 per contest. Henderson knocked down 75 three-pointers during the 2013-14 season to rank second in school history for a single season.
SFA also returns Destiny Bragman (Sr., C), Paulletta Powell (Jr., G), Victoria Pena (Jr., G), LaNesha Middleton (RS So., F), Brentney Branch (So., G), Taylor Ross (So., G) and Adrienne Lewis (So., C).
• Newcomers - The Ladyjacks welcome five newcomers from both the high school and Division I ranks to the team this year. New in an SFA jersey for the upcoming season will be guards Kaylah Starling (Tatum HS), Charisma Alexander (Georgetown HS) and Taylor Schippers (Butler University), and forwards Danielle Rogers (Bishop Lynch HS) and Stevi Parker (University of Tulsa).
Schippers and Parker both bring a wealth of Division I experience to the roster but will each sit out the 2014-15 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
• Up Next - Following Friday's game, the women's basketball team will have one more home game at William R. Johnson Coliseum in the four-game home stretch to begin the season. The Ladyjacks host St. Edwards on Tuesday, Nov. 25 before flying to Albuquerque, N.M. for the University of New Mexico Thanksgiving Classic from Nov. 28-29.
-SFA-
