SFA Begins Tough Road Stretch With Rice
12/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Complete Game Notes
Game 8: Stephen F. Austin (4-3) at Rice (3-3)
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 6 • 2:00 p.m.
Site: Tudor Fieldhouse | Houston, Texas
Live Stats | Live Radio | OwlVision
@SFA_WBB (#AxeEm/#ToughAndTogether)
Team Information
Stephen F. Austin
Head Coach: Brandon Schneider (Wayland Baptist, 1995)
Career Record: 382-133 (17th season) | Record at SFA: 76-61 (5th season)
Rice
Head Coach: Greg Williams (Rice, 1970)
Career Record: 336-291 (25th season) | Record at Rice: 135-152 (10th season)
HOUSTON, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team begins a tough two-game road swing on Saturday afternoon when they take on Rice in Houston for a 2:00 p.m. tip. Following the game inside Tudor Fieldhouse, the Ladyjacks will start preparing for another test at 11th-ranked Baylor on Sunday, Dec. 14.
The game marks the first true road game for the Ladyjacks this season as SFA has played five home games and two neutral games as part of the University of New Mexico Class in Albuquerque, N.M. from Nov. 28-29. Last year, SFA finished 7-8 overall on the road.
The Ladyjacks are coming off their most efficient offensive performance of the season in the form of a 90-50 thumping of Texas A&M-Kingsville on Tuesday at William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA shot a season-high 63.8 percent (37-for-58) from the field while outscoring the Javelinas 62-12 in the paint and 39-5 in points off turnovers - both season-best margins. A big reason for the disparity in the points in the paint was senior center Porsha Roberts' monster game. She came one point shy of her career-high with 31 points on 14-for-18 shooting to lead the Ladyjacks to their most lopsided win of the year.
SFA should expect a much closer game on Saturday against a tough Rice team. The Owls and the Ladyjacks have played one similar team so far in 2014 in Prairie View A&M. SFA won its matchup against the Panthers 83-73 on Nov. 18 and Rice won by 12 four days prior. The Owls are led by sophomore forward Jasmine Goodwine (11.7 ppg) and senior center Christal Porter (12.2 rpg).
Saturday afternoon's game between SFA and Rice will be the ninth meeting all-time between the two programs. The series is split 4-4. The owls won the last matchup 60-41 on their home court on Dec. 15, 2012. The last win for the Ladyjacks was a 68-64 overtime decision inside William R. Johnson Coliseum on Dec. 20, 2011.
NOTES
• Helping Hand – Sophomore guard Taylor Ross dished out 14 assists over last weekend’s Thanksgiving tournament, including a career-high nine assists in a loss against UC Riverside on Friday night in ‘The Pit’. Most recently she recorded four helpers and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor with 17 points in SFA’s victory over Kingsville on Tuesday. Ross currently ranks 25th in the nation with an average of 5.7 assists per game.
• 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 11th in the category, averaging 16.6 points and 9.6 boards per game. Roberts also ranks among the nation's best in several other statistics, sitting 28th in blocks per game (2.6), 21st in field goal percentage (61.0) and 25th in offensive rebounds per contest (4.0).
• Protecting the Rim – In just seven games this season, SFA has put up 36 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. The squad’s mark of 5.1 blocks per game is the 36th best average in the country. SFA has more than double the amount of blocks as the next closest team in the SLC and has outblocked all but one opponent overall this year.
• Efficient Attack – Thanks to their nearly 64 percent shooting effort against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Tuesday night, the Ladyjacks now rank 38th in the NCAA as a team in field goal percentage (45.6) out of 343 programs. UConn holds the best value in the country with a 53.0 percent mark.
• 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 18.4 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 200 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 (163), third in three-point attempts (503) 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 in Houston, the Ladyjacks will face a tough road test when they travel to Waco, Texas for a game against Baylor on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2:00 p.m. The Bears are currently ranked 11th in the nation.
-SFA-
