Moment #5: Ladyjacks Claim Share of SLC Title
8/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
It was another successful athletic season for Stephen F. Austin in 2013-14, capped by memorable games, incredible performances, championship efforts and moments that will be remembered for years to come. To close out the 2013-14 season, SFAJacks.com will count down the top 15 moments of the past year as voted on by the SFA administrative staff and media representatives. A new moment will be revealed each Tuesday and Friday, counting down to the top moment of the year on Tuesday, August 19th.
MOMENT #5: Ladyjacks Claim Share of SLC Regular Season Title
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks won their league leading 16th Southland Conference Championship in 2014. It was the way in which the Ladyjacks won their first title under head coach Brandon Schneider is what will make 2013-14 one of the more memorable seasons in SFA history.
Schneider's team entered the year as the preseason favorite to win the Southland Conference, and the Ladyjacks quickly jumped atop the league standings when conference play started. SFA won the first four games by an average of 17.25 points.
Northwestern State handed the Ladyjacks their first loss in league play with the Lady Demons winning 66-54 on their home floor. That initial loss was followed by an injury to starting point guard Brittney Matthew in practice the next day
When Matthew went down with her season-ending injury, she was the leading scorer on the team for the Ladyjacks. SFA struggled to score points and find a rhythm in the next two games at Oral Roberts and Central Arkansas.
With a three-game losing streak bringing their record to 4-3 in league play and down a point guard, Schneider and his coaching staff put their heads together to reassess the strengths of the team and made lineup adjustments.
Those adjustments paid off for the Ladyjacks as they dominated Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word to get back on the winning side and junior center Porsha Roberts began to pour the points in while continuing her assault on defense as one of the top shot blockers in the nation.
The Ladyjacks would go on a tear and win nine of their last 11 games of the regular season to climb back into contention for the conference title. The two losses by were by a total of three points, including one heartbreaking double-overtime thriller against Nicholls.
After the two-point loss to Lamar on the road on February 13, the Ladyjacks found themselves tied for fourth place in the Southland Conference standings, two games behind first place with only six games to play.
SFA answered the challenge by winning five straight games to set up a showdown with first-place Central Arkansas on the Ladyjacks home court in the final regular season game with the title on the line.
The Ladyjacks dominated the Sugar Bears with a 61-41 thumping. Roberts poured in 20 points and swatted four blocks while Tierany Henderson crashed the glass with 16 rebounds. SFA held UCA to just 28.3 percent shooting and the Sugar Bears went 0-for-15 from beyond the arc.
With the victory, the Ladyjacks won a share of the Southland Conference regular season title with Lamar and dropped UCA into third place after losing the final three games of the season.
After the hot start and the setbacks just two weeks into conference play, Schneider and the Ladyjacks were able to turn the season around and make 2014 a year to remember for SFA fans. A 16th conference title, a six-game winning streak to close the regular season, overcoming a large deficit in the standings, all made the Ladyjacks' run to the SLC crown a memorable one.
That momentum carried through the postseason for the Ladyjacks as they went on to advance to the championship game of the Women's Basketball Invitational following a loss in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game. It marked the first time in school history the Ladyjacks had won three games in a postseason tournament, adding even more excitement to an already exciting season for the Ladyjacks.
2013-14 SFA Top Moment Countdown Schedule
Moment #1 - Tuesday, Aug. 19
Moment #2 - Friday, Aug. 15
Moment #3 - Tuesday, Aug. 12
Moment #4 - Friday, Aug. 8
Moment #5 - Women's basketball claims a share of the SLC regular season crown
Moment #6 - Clint Conque named SFA's head football coach
Moment #7 - SFA claims 2013-14 SLC Women's All-Sport Trophy
Moment #8 - Elizabeth Arana's walkoff homerun caps softball's rally on Senior Day
Moment #9 - Men's track and field garners seven All-America honors
Moment #10 - Women's basketball advances to WBI championship game
Moment #11 - Men's track and field cracks the top-25 for the first time since 1996
Moment #12 - Baseball outlasts nationally-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa
Moment #13 - Football stuns second-ranked Montana State
Moment #14 - Colton Ross sets nation's top mark in pole vault
Moment #15 - Bowling claims first tournament titles in program history
-SFA-
