Stephen F. Austin
Lamar
SFA Holds Off Lamar, 59-55
1/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BEAUMONT, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team jumped out to a quick 21-point lead in the first half and held off a late push by Lamar to win 59-55 inside the Montagne Center on Thursday night. The victory is the fifth straight for the Ladyjacks (12-5, 5-1 SLC).
SFA got off to a fast start thanks to suffocating defense and big first half performances from Porsha Roberts and Taylor Ross. The Ladyjacks held the Lady Cardinals (8-10, 5-2 SLC) to just 28.6 percent shooting in the opening period, including a 1-for-10 mark from beyond the arc.
Roberts and Ross combined for 24 of the Ladyjacks’ 36 first half points as SFA was in complete control for the first 16 minutes of the game. With SFA in front 12-7, Roberts and Ross helped lead a 22-6 run over a nine-minute span to put the Ladyjacks up 34-13 with 4:17 to play in the half. The 21-point margin was the largest of the game for either side.
The Lady Cardinals would chip away at that lead over the remainder of the half, however, using a 12-2 spurt to close the gap and head to the locker room trailing 36-25.
The Ladyjacks went without a basket for over five minutes at the end of the first half and beginning of the second, as Lamar crept back into the game. The Lady Cardinals grabbed their first lead, 47-45, with 8:35 to go. Just as in the game against Abilene Christian, SFA’s defense tightened and players stepped up with big time shots down the stretch to regain the lead.
Senior Tierany Henderson drilled two three-pointers in a three-minute window to give SFA some breathing room and Ross and Charisma Alexander knocked down two shots late. Alexander finished with a career-high eight points on 4-for-7 shooting.
Roberts came two rebounds away from her fifth double-double in six games as she tallied 16 points and eight boards. The Waco native was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor and has now made 17 of her last 18 shots spanning the last two contests.
Ross also added 16 points to the Ladyjacks’ cause and took in nine rebounds – a season-high total. She led SFA with four assists on the evening.
SFA shot the ball at a 42.9 percent clip for the game to improve to 11-2 when surpassing 40 percent shooting. Lamar made just 32.2 percent of its shots, 10 of which were denied due to an SFA block. Roberts (6) and Henderson (4) combined to give the Ladyjacks a season-high number of rejections.
While the Lady Cardinal full court press gave the Ladyjacks problems at times, SFA more than made up for it by dominating the paint. Thanks to a strong presence by Roberts and Adrienne Lewis, the Ladyjacks outscored the Lady Cardinals 40-20 in the lane. Lewis scored four points and tied a career-high with six rebounds.
After dropping in three triples, Henderson ended the night with nine points.
The Ladyjacks will finish their current three-game road stretch on Saturday afternoon against Sam Houston State in Huntsville. Tip is set for 1:30 p.m. for the front end of a men/women double-header.
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