SFA Resumes Rivalry With UTA on Tuesday Night
12/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Stephen F. Austin (4-1) vs. Texas-Arlington (2-3)
Tuesday, December 1 • 7:00 p.m.
William R. Johnson Coliseum • Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch Live (ESPN3) • Live Stats
Complete Game Notes 
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team will line up across from a familiar opponent on Tuesday night as Texas-Arlington returns to William R. Johnson Coliseum for the 74th edition of the old rivalry. First tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
The Ladyjacks lead the Lady Mavericks, formerly a Southland Conference member, 58-15 in the all-time series and hold a 23-5 advantage in games played at home. Tuesday will be the first meeting between the two programs since SFA beat UTA 59-54 on Feb. 15, 2012 in Arlington.
The Ladyjacks will put a couple winning streaks on the line for the matchup. Coming off a big week with three wins, SFA is in search of its fourth straight victory. The Ladyjacks also currently boast a 17-game home winning streak, which is the seventh-longest active streak in the nation.
After a setback at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 21, SFA responded in a huge way with three wins in three games last week. The Ladyjacks started things off with a dominating 94-39 thrashing of LSU-Shreveport on Tuesday night at home before knocking off SIUE 82-74 and Indiana State 71-62 at the UMKC Plaza Lights Classic over the weekend. With the 2-0 record in Kansas City, SFA was crowned the tournament champion.
Junior guard Taylor Ross was the star for the week, scoring at least 20 points in all three contests. She averaged 23.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals during the stint and picked up several prestigious awards as a result. She was tabbed the National Mid-Major Player of the Week by College Sports Madness and secured Southland Conference Player of the Week honors on Monday for her recent success on the hardwood.
Ross, who tallied a career-high 28 points (all coming in the second half) against SIUE on Friday afternoon and dropped 20 points against Indiana State on Saturday, was also named the UMKC Plaza Lights Classic MVP.
"Taylor was really good last week and it was nice to have her out there for the first time this year," said head coach Mark Kellogg. "She can create and get in any gap no matter how big or small. To score 28 points in the second half of a game is pretty special."
Sophomore forward Stevi Parker also had a solid tournament for the Ladyjacks. On Friday, she recorded her first double-double of the year by way of a 20-point, 11-rebound outburst against SIUE. She followed that up with another great performance on the glass, hauling in 10 rebounds against the Sycamores to go with six points. She was named to the All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the weekend.
Like Ross, senior guard Taylor Schippers has scored in double figures for SFA in each of the last three games. Schippers averaged 11.0 points per game last week and also led the team with 13 assists. Several of those assists went to junior guard Brentney Branch, who caught fire in the second game at UMKC. Branch went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc against Indiana State and ended the game with 19 points to help the Ladyjacks get the win. She is shooting 52.2 percent (12-for-23) from distance this year.
SFA will look for similar production from its four hot players on Tuesday night when UTA comes to town. The Lady Mavs are coming off a massive 66-point victory over Missouri Valley College on Saturday and own a 2-3 record overall for the year. No player currently averages in double figures for UTA but a relentless defense has been the name of the game for the Lady Mavs so far.
"UTA was a great defensive team last year and it looks like they're defending like crazy again this year," said Kellogg. "They bring in the best defensive group by far that we've seen this year and they've also got size. I think they were a pretty confident pick to win their league this year in the Sun Belt so they're bringing in a team that returns quite a bit and they've taken some huge steps over the last couple years. I expect it to be an all out battle."
Fans can watch Tuesday's action live through ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app while also following along with live stats (link above). For more information throughout the game, follow @SFA_WBB on Twitter.
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