Stephen F. Austin
Boston University
Late SFA Rally Falls Short Against Boston U.
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Despite a strong surge in the closing minutes, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team fell just short against Boston University, 62-57, in the final game of the University of New Mexico Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday night inside ‘The Pit’.
Trailing by eight points with 4:25 left in the game, the Ladyjacks (3-3) scratched and clawed their way back into the fight. The squad put together a 9-2 run over the next 3:22 with clutch jumpers by seniors Tierany Henderson and Brittney Matthew and two floaters off the fingertips of sophomore Taylor Ross. Matthew’s pull-up shot in the lane with 1:03 remaining capped the run and put SFA within one at 58-57.
On the ensuing Terrier possession, Ross forced a turnover but the Ladyjacks couldn’t capitalize. BU knocked down a pair of free throws to go up 60-57 with 23 seconds on the clock.
SFA would get two good looks in the closing seconds but the shots didn’t fall and BU (3-3) was able to hold on for the 62-57 win.
Henderson led the Ladyjacks with 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting in the game. She hit five triples, grabbed eight rebounds, blocked three shots and picked up two steals in a complete-game effort. Henderson was named to the All-Tournament Team after her huge performance.
Senior Porsha Roberts and Ross each netted eight points in the contest for SFA. Roberts also brought down eight boards and rejected two shots on the evening.
The Ladyjacks got off to a fast start thanks in large part to the hot shooting hand of Henderson. The senior forward knocked down an early three-pointer to help build a 7-2 lead and later capped an SFA 10-0 run with another triple to extend the advantage to 17-10. She made three shots from beyond the arc overall in the half and took 11 points into the locker room on 4-for-7 shooting.
On the other side of the court, SFA forced nine Terrier turnovers before committing its first of the game with 7:47 remaining in the half. The Ladyjacks won the turnover battle 12-3 in the frame and outscored Boston University 14-3 in points off those miscues to hold a 29-25 edge at the intermission.
SFA committed a season-low seven turnovers overall while scoring 22 points off 19 BU turnovers.
The Terriers shot the ball at a 50 percent clip (13-for-16) in the second half compared to a 28.9 percent mark (11-for-38) by the Ladyjacks. The disparity turned out to be the difference in the game.
The Ladyjacks will now return home to Nacogdoches to begin preparing for a Tuesday home game against Texas A&M-Kingsville. The contest will be played inside William R. Johnson Coliseum beginning at 7:00 p.m.
-SFA-
