SFA To Host Arizona Saturday Afternoon
12/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game 10: Stephen F. Austin (5-4) vs. Arizona (6-3)
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 20 • 4:30 p.m.
Site: William R. Johnson Coliseum | Nacogdoches, Texas
Radio: Q107.7 FM
Live Stats | Live Stream
@SFA_WBB (#AxeEm/#ToughAndTogether)
Team Information
Stephen F. Austin
Head Coach: Brandon Schneider (Wayland Baptist, 1995)
Career Record: 383-134 (17th season) | Record at SFA: 77-62 (5th season)
Arizona
Head Coach: Niya Butts (Tennessee, 2000)
Career Record: 85-111 (7th season) | Record at Arizona: Same
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team begins a two-game homestand on Saturday against the Arizona Wildcats to finish 2014 and the non-conference schedule. The 4:30 p.m. tipoff in William R. Johnson Coliseum will start the second game of an SFA double-header as the men’s squad collides with Arkansas Tech at 2:00 p.m.
The Ladyjacks are coming off a lopsided defeat in Waco against the ninth-ranked Baylor Lady Bears on Sunday, Dec. 14. SFA lost 96-57 despite playing stretches of solid basketball. Senior center Porsha Roberts had a big afternoon in her first collegiate game in her hometown. The La Vega High School standout scored 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting while hauling in eight rebounds and blocking five shots.
Roberts scored the first six points for SFA as the Ladyjacks jumped out to a 6-3 lead and carried it to the under 16:00 media timeout. SFA took good care of the ball on the afternoon, committing just 14 turnovers compared to Baylor’s 13, but couldn’t overcome the Lady Bears’ size for the entire 40 minutes of play.
Arizona presents another power five conference test for SFA on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats have won a season-high four straight games and six of their last seven overall heading into the game. Arizona is led by senior shooting guard Candice Warthen with 12.2 ppg and 3.4 apg and sophomore power forward LaBrittney Jones, who averages 8.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
The Wildcat defense has been a point of strength in the early going this season. The team ranks seventh nationally in three-point defense (.221) and has held opposing teams to fewer than 60 points in seven of nine games this year.
Arizona was picked to finish 12th in the Pac-12 standings in both the preseason media and coaches’ conference polls.
Saturday’s game between the ‘Cats and the Ladyjacks will mark the fourth meeting in the all-time series. SFA currently leads 2-1, most recently claiming victory last year on Nov. 20 – a 60-56 win on the road in Tucson. Prior to last year’s contest, the last meeting between the two programs was on Dec. 16, 2001 when SFA slipped by Arizona 68-66 in Nacogdoches. The Wildcats’ lone victory in the series came on Dec. 10, 1998 when they won 90-76 in Arizona.
Fans can listen live to all of Saturday’s action on Q107.7 FM or Q1077.com as Rob Meyers has the call for the SFA broadcast.
NOTES
• Home Sweet Home – After being on the road for four of the last five games, the Ladyjacks return to the friendly confines of William R. Johnson Coliseum on Saturday afternoon – a location where they’ve enjoyed a fair share of success this season. SFA is 4-1 at home on the year, averaging 77.8 ppg while limiting opponents to 61.8 ppg. In each of the last three home games for the Ladyjacks, opposing teams have failed to score more than 56 points.
• Seeing Double – Senior center Porsha Roberts led the nation in double-doubles through four games, accomplishing the feat in all four contests for the Ladyjacks to start the year. She currently sits in a tie for 34th in the category, averaging 16.4 points and 9.0 boards per game. Roberts also ranks among the nation's best in several other statistics, sitting 28th in blocks per game (2.6), 16th in field goal percentage (59.8) and 20th in offensive rebounds per contest (4.4).
• Deep Range Threat – Sophomore Brentney Branch is coming off a big shooting performance against No. 9 Baylor last Sunday. She dumped in four three-pointers in seven attempts overall and hit three in the first half alone to help the Ladyjacks keep pace with the Lady Bears in the early stages of the game. Branch leads the team with 18 made threes this season and is shooting above 40 percent from deep (18-44).
• Helping Hand – Sophomore guard Taylor Ross dished out 14 assists during the University of New Mexico Thanksgiving Classic from Nov. 28-29, including a career-high nine assists in a loss against UC Riverside on Nov. 28 in ‘The Pit’. Ross currently ranks 40th in the nation with an average of 5.2 assists per game. She has handed out 47 assists compared to just 24 turnovers on the season for a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio.
• Protecting the Rim – In just nine games this season, SFA has put up 45 blocks as a team. The Ladyjacks rejected six shots in the opener against LA Tech and denied eight more against Prairie View A&M and ULM to begin a blazing pace. Despite being undersized, the Ladyjacks swatted six shots against Baylor on Sunday with five coming from Porsha Roberts. The squad’s mark of 5.0 blocks per game is the 37th best average in the country. SFA leads the SLC in the category and has outblocked all but two opponents overall this year.
• Efficient Attack – Thanks to their nearly 64 percent shooting effort against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Dec. 2 and a nearly 60 percent average from Porsha Roberts and Taylor Ross, the Ladyjacks rank 47th in the NCAA as a team in field goal percentage (44.2) out of 343 programs. UConn holds the best value in the country with a 52.3 percent mark.
• What a Night – Porsha Roberts has the highest point total in a single game for the Ladyjacks this year. The senior had a 31-point outburst against Texas A&M-Kingsville at home on Dec. 2 to come one point shy of her career-high. Roberts went 14-for-18 from the floor during the game to lead SFA to a 90-50 victory.
• All-Tournament Team for Henderson – Forward Tierany Henderson poured in 19 points against Boston University in the second game of the University of New Mexico Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 29 in Albuquerque. She shot 7-for-14 from the field to give her a season-high total and help the Ladyjacks stay in the game until the final seconds. Henderson hit five three-pointers in the contest en route to All-Tournament Team recognition.
• Hot Streak – Taylor Ross started the 2014-15 season red hot. She scored at least 19 points in the first four games of the season and shot at an efficient 62.7 percent clip from the floor during the stretch. Ross also ranked 21st in the country at the Division I level in scoring average over the span (23.0 ppg). The Pflugerville, Texas native averaged 23.5 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and knocking down 19 of 21 free throws during the week of Nov. 17-23 to help SFA earn victories over Prairie View A&M and ULM. She was named the Southland Conference Player of the Week for her efforts during the span. Ross currently leads SFA with 17.2 points per game this year.
• 2014-15 Opening Night – In a battle between two of the top five winningest programs in NCAA women’s basketball history, 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, 76-69.
• 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 205 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 (165), third in three-point attempts (510) and ninth with a .324 percentage from downtown. Also a defensive presence, Henderson is the eighth best shot-blocker in SFA history with 106 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 Saturday’s game, the Ladyjacks will begin preparation for a New Year’s Eve game against Southern Arkansas inside William R. Johnson Coliseum beginning at 6:00 p.m.
-SFA-
