Stephen F. Austin
UC Riverside
SFA Falls to UC Riverside in UNM Opener
11/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team fell behind early in the first game of the New Mexico Thanksgiving Classic on Friday night and couldn't recover, falling 90-62 to UC Riverside. The game was played on the campus of the University of New Mexico in `The Pit'.
Senior guard Brittney Matthew led the Ladyjacks (3-2) with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting and knocked down a game-high four triples. The total was a season-high for the Houston native.
Senior center Porsha Roberts tallied 14 points and six rebounds for SFA while sophomore guard Taylor Ross chipped in 12 points. The duo each went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to help the Ladyjacks go a perfect 14-for-14 from the charity stripe overall in the game. Junior Paulletta Powell knocked down the other pair of free throws.
The Highlanders (4-0) started hot and kept the pace for the entire game, connecting on 63 percent of their shots including a 57.1 percent mark (8-for-14) from three-point range. Junior guard Brittany Crain led UCR with 35 points (13-for-21 shooting) in 35 minutes. She currently ranks fifth in the nation with 28.5 points per game.
UCR scored the first six points in the game and got out to a 14-2 lead before sophomore Brentney Branch recorded the first field goal for SFA - a deep three-pointer from the left wing. Branch hit two threes for the Ladyjacks on the night.
The Highlanders used an 18-0 advantage in points off turnovers to take a 45-26 lead into the break.
SFA shot the ball better in the second half, dropping in 44.4 percent of its shots with a 4-for-8 mark from beyond the arc. The Ladyjacks cut the deficit to 15 with 11:41 to play on a pair of free throws by Powell, but couldn't cool off the Highlanders' shooters the rest of the way to the 90-62 final.
SFA will play either New Mexico or Boston University on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. CT depending on the result of Friday's late game. For updates on Saturday's contest, follow the Ladyjacks on Twitter @SFA_WBB.
-SFA-
