Ladyjacks Close 2014 On New Year's Eve
12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game 11: Stephen F. Austin (6-4) vs. Southern Arkansas (4-7)
Date/Time: Wednesday, Dec. 31 • 6:00 p.m.
Site: William R. Johnson Coliseum | Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Live Stream
@SFA_WBB (#AxeEm/#ToughAndTogether)
Team Information
Stephen F. Austin
Head Coach: Brandon Schneider (Wayland Baptist, 1995)
Career Record: 384-134 (17th season) | Record at SFA: 78-62 (5th season)
Southern Arkansas
Head Coach: Rusty Rainbolt (Texas Tech, 2005)
Career Record: 71-46 (5th season) | Record at Southern Arkansas: 16-22 (2nd season)
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team will conclude their non-conference schedule and put a bow on the 2014 calendar year when they take on Southern Arkansas at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday night inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. A win in the New Year's Eve game would give the Ladyjacks seven non-conference regular season wins for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
SFA is coming off a quality home win against Arizona on Saturday, Dec. 20. The Ladyjacks used a big second half and another monster effort from their senior center Porsha Roberts to tame the Wildcats, 72-60. Roberts scored 21 of her game-high 29 points in the final 20 minutes to help her team outscore Arizona 49-35 in the period and defeat the `Cats for the second straight year. Roberts went 11-for-16 from the field overall and came one rebound shy of her fifth double-double of the season with five of the nine boards coming on the offensive glass. She was named the Southland Conference Player of the Week for her efforts.
Junior forward Tierany Henderson also played a big role in the victory, tying a career-high with 16 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. Her efforts helped the Ladyjacks win the rebounding battle and outscore Arizona 18-11 in second chance points.
After the big win over a power conference foe, SFA will switch gears to face its third NCAA Division II program this year when Southern Arkansas comes to town. The Ladyjacks, who have beaten St. Edward's and Texas A&M-Kingsville already this year, look to finish with a perfect 3-0 record against schools from the D-II ranks.
The Lady Muleriders come into the game with a 4-7 record after a tough schedule to begin the year. Including exhibitions, Southern Arkansas has lost five games by six points or less. The only common opponent for the two squads in the 2014-15 season has been the University of Louisiana at Monroe. The Lady Muleriders lost to ULM 78-67 on Nov. 30 while SFA took care of business 82-54 on Nov. 21. Most recently, Southern Arkansas lost to NCAA Division II No. 1 Emporia State 85-42 on Dec. 17.
The Lady Muleriders are led by junior forward Rosa Bryant (12.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and senior forward Chanel Miller (11.5 ppg, .542 FG%).
Wednesday night's game between the Lady Muleriders and the Ladyjacks will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
NOTES
• Home Sweet Home - The Ladyjacks have enjoyed a fair share of success in William R. Johnson Coliseum this season. SFA is 5-1 at home on the year, averaging 76.8 ppg while limiting opponents to 61.5 ppg. In each of the last four home games for the Ladyjacks, opposing teams have failed to score more than 60 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 has scored in double figures in all but one game this year, raked in at least eight rebounds in all but two contests and leads SFA with 17.7 points and 9.0 boards per game. Roberts ranks among the nation's best in several statistics, sitting eighth in field goal percentage (61.0), 17th in offensive rebounds per contest (4.5) and 34th in blocks per game (2.3).
• 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 50th in the nation with an average of 4.9 assists per game. She has handed out 49 assists compared to just 25 turnovers on the season for a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio.
• Protecting the Rim - In just 10 games this season, SFA has put up 47 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 Dec. 14 with five coming from Porsha Roberts. The squad's mark of 4.7 blocks per game is the 47th best average in the country. SFA ranks second in the SLC in the category and has outblocked all but two opponents overall this year.
• Homecoming of Sorts - Senior center Porsha Roberts had a big afternoon in her first collegiate game in her hometown when the Ladyjacks traveled to Waco to play the ninth-ranked Baylor Lady Bears on Sunday, Dec. 14. The La Vega High School standout scored 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting while hauling in eight rebounds and blocking five shots on the afternoon. 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. In the end, Baylor's size was too much as the Lady Bears won 96-57.
• Efficient Attack - Thanks in part to a 61 percent average from Porsha Roberts and a 50 percent average from Taylor Ross, the Ladyjacks rank 45th in the NCAA as a team in field goal percentage (43.8) out of 343 programs. UConn holds the best value in the country with a 52.6 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 averages 16.3 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 (516) and ninth with a .320 percentage from downtown. Also a defensive presence, Henderson is the eighth best shot-blocker in SFA history with 107 rejections.
• Up Next - Following Wednesday's game, the Ladyjacks will start conference play on the road against McNeese State on Saturday, Jan. 3. The women will tip at 1:00 p.m. with the men to follow at 3:00 p.m. SFA will return home on Monday, Jan. 5 for a league doubleheader against Southeastern Louisiana with the women starting things off at 6:00 p.m.
-SFA-
