Ladyjacks Set to Take on Texas State Thursday
3/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 19, 2014
SFA Game Notes 
Game 33
SFA vs. Texas State
Date: March 20, 7 p.m.
Site: William R. Johnson Coliseum – Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Live Stream
Twitter: @SFA_WBB
Team Information
Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (20-12)
Head Coach: Brandon Schneider (Wayland Baptist, 1995)
Career Record: 375-129 (16th season), Record at SFA: 69-57 (4th season)
Texas State Bobcats (16-15)
Head Coach: Zenarae Antoine (Colorado State, 1998)
Career Record: 43-49 (3rd season)
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks host the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational at 7 p.m. Thursday against former Southland Conference foe Texas State.
The Ladyjacks (20-12) return to the postseason after falling in the first round of the WBI two years ago to Northern Iowa at home. Teams in SFA’s portion of the bracket are No. 1 seed Grand Canyon and No. 8 seed Boise State. Grand Canyon and Boise State face Thursday night as well.
This is SFA’s 28th postseason appearance in program history with 18 NCAA Tournaments, 3 WNITs, 5 AIAW Tournaments and now 2 appearances in the WBI.
The Ladyjacks enter the WBI after losing the championship game of the Southland Conference Tournament to Northwestern State. That loss snapped a 7-game winning streak after defeating McNeese State in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Ladyjacks have posted two winning streaks of seven contests this season.
Head Coach Brandon Schneider is seeking his 70th win at SFA. He currently ranks 5th in SFA history in wins and has amassed 375 wins in his career as a head coach at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels. He recently coached his 500th game as a head coach in a victory over Southeastern Louisiana.
Texas State (16-15) comes to Nacogdoches after falling to Arkansas State in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championship. The Bobcats have three players averaging double digits in scoring.
Tickets
Ticket prices for the WBI will be the same for SFA fans as during the regular season. Students will be allowed to enter for free as well just like the regular season.
Catching Up with SFA
· Porsha Roberts was named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year. The junior center averaged 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game this season in league play. Over the last 4 games she averaged 3.0 blocks per game. It is her 2nd major award after being named SLC Freshman of the Year in 2011-12.
· Porsha Roberts also was named All-Southland Conference First Team. She scored 16.8 points per game in league play to rank 5th and was 3rd in shooting percentage at 58.7. She closed the season with back-to-back performances of 20 or more points performances and 4 blocks.
· Tierany Henderson was named All-Southland Conference Honorable Mention. The junior forward was among the league’s top rebounders and shooters. Henderson pulled down 7.1 rebounds in league games and ranked 5th in 3-pointers made.
· The Ladyjacks clinched their 16th Southland Conference regular season title in the last game of the regular season with a win over Central Arkansas to share the crown with Lamar. SFA bested UCA 61-41 and held the Sugar Bears to their lowest first-half scoring with only 15 points. No current member of the Southland has more than 3 conference titles. Louisiana-Monroe won 5 conference championships while a member of the Southland.
· The Ladyjacks have the No. 2 scoring defense in the Southland allowing 57.6 points in conference play and 61.2 overall. SFA’s opponent shooting percentage of 37.6 ranks 1st in the Southland. The Ladyjacks allowed conference opponents to score more than 60 points just 7 times, including the championship game of the Southland Conference Tournament and a double-overtime loss to Nicholls State. Overall, the Ladyjacks are 18-2 this season when allowing 60 or fewer points and went undefeated against Southland teams in those contests at 13-0.
· SFA allowed an average of 53.2 points in its 13 conference victories.
· The Ladyjacks led the Southland Conference in blocked shots per game this season with an average of 4.4 overall. SFA was 2nd in league play at 4.2 per game. This season the Ladyjacks have posted 5 or more blocks 16 times, including 7 of the last 13 games. The Ladyjacks are 12-4 in those contests. Overall SFA is 50th in the nation with 4.4 blocks per game.
· One reason why SFA is blocking so many balls again is junior center Porsha Roberts. Roberts is averaging 2.0 per game overall to rank 2nd in the conference and 46th in the NCAA. Her 65 blocks rank 3rd in school history for a season, and Roberts is 4 blocks shy of tying the SFA career record of 175.
· Porsha Roberts cracked the 1,000 point mark in January at Northwestern State. The forward posted 17 points in the loss and finished the game with 1,009 career points scored. She leads the team with 16.3 points per game overall and is shooting 55.7 percent on the year to rank 21st in the NCAA.
· Freshman Brentney Branch got hot late in the season for the Ladyjacks. She has scored in double digits in 5 of the last 8 contests, including a career-high 15 points against McNeese State in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament. Branch led the Southland in 3-point shooting percentage this season, hitting at a 46.3 percent clip during league play.
· The Ladyjacks’ win over Houston Baptist earlier this month was win No. 950 in Ladyjack history. The Ladyjacks are among the winningest programs in NCAA history with 961 total wins since the program’s start in 1969 to rank 5th all-time. SFA is the winningest program in the state of Texas, ahead traditional powerhouses Texas and Texas Tech along with current power Baylor. Only two programs have won more than 1,000 games, and SFA is trying to become the third joining Tennessee and Louisiana Tech. James Madison and Old Dominion are currently ahead of SFA on the list with Texas close behind the Ladyjacks in all-time wins.
· The Ladyjacks played well at home during the 2013-14 season thanks to their fans creating a true homecourt advantage. SFA led the Southland in attendance with an average of 2,027 fans at conference games and went 8-1 in those games. SFA’s only home loss in conference play as a double-overtime 75-74 thriller with Nicholls State. Overall, SFA is 12-3 at home with the other losses coming to Stetson during the Preseason WNIT and to SMU.
· SFA has done a great job of protecting leads this season and is 17-0 when leading with 5 minutes remaining in regulation. The Ladyjacks are 18-2 when leading with 10 minutes left in regulation.
· Tierany Henderson has been among the top 3-pointer shooters this season in the Southland Conference. The junior ranked 5th in 3-pointers made per game and was 7th in 3-point shooting percentage. In all games, Henderson has hit 63 shots from beyond the arc to rank 3rd in SFA history. She also is approaching Top 5 status in SFA history for her career, needing only 2 more makes beyond the arc to tie Stephanie Whitmore for 3rd with 143.
· The Ladyjacks are the top rebounding team in the Southland Conference this season. SFA had a rebounding margin of plus-9.8 in league games and plus-6.9 overall. In league play, Porsha Roberts averaged 8.2 boards and Tierany Henderson pulled down 7.1. SFA is the top rebounding team despite only having 2 individual players rank in the Top 20 in the Southland.
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