Ladyjacks Head to Denton for UNT Hospitality Hill Tournament
12/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Complete Game Notes 
Stephen F. Austin (4-2) vs. IUPUI (5-1)
Friday, December 4 • 5:00 p.m.
The Super Pit • Denton, Texas
Live Stats
Stephen F. Austin (4-2) vs. Weber State (4-1)
Saturday, December 5 • 12:00 p.m.
The Super Pit • Denton, Texas
Live Stats
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team travels to Denton this weekend for the University of North Texas Hospitality Hill Tournament, where the Ladyjacks will face IUPUI on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. and Weber State on Saturday at noon. SFA's two opponents currently own a combined record of 9-2 during the 2015-16 season.
"This weekend we will be trying to place the focus back on us," said head coach Mark Kellogg. "We need to reestablish our identity both offensively and defensively. Both of our opponents that we are going to face are off to good starts and we're going to need to play our best basketball of the season to come away with the results we want."
Just one weekend removed from winning the UMKC Plaza Lights Classic team title over the Thanksgiving break, the Ladyjacks will be aiming for a similar final outcome at North Texas. Between weekend road trips, SFA rekindled an old rivalry with former Southland Conference foe UT Arlington inside William R. Johnson Coliseum this past Tuesday night. Junior guards Taylor Ross and Brentney Branch combined for 35 points in the contest, but it wasn't enough as the Ladyjacks were edged out, 67-63.
Besides Ross, who is averaging 22.3 points per game this year, and Branch, who has scored 35 points in her last two games, senior guard Taylor Schippers and sophomore forward Stevi Parker have been playing well for the Ladyjacks. Schippers has contributed at least nine points in each of the last four games, averaging 10.5 ppg during the span. Parker has been getting the job done offensively as well as on the glass this year, hauling in a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game while adding 9.7 points.
This weekend, SFA will play two teams for the first time in program history. IUPUI has taken down the likes of Indiana State, Marquette and VCU already this year. The Jaguars have a balanced attack as four players are scoring between 10.7 and 12.2 points per game.
"IUPUI is going to be athletic and they are going to be a team that defends well," Kellogg said. "They are 5-1 overall on the year so they certainly have our full attention. We have a common opponent in Indiana State - a team IUPUI beat by 25 last Tuesday night."
Weber State is also off to a strong start, using road wins against Cal State Fullerton and Portland last week to improve to 4-1 on the year. Kailie Quinn (14.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Regina Okoye (12.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg) present the most difficult matchups for SFA.
"We're focused on IUPUI for Friday night right now, but we will have our players prepared for Saturday's game against Weber State as well," said Kellogg. "I don't know much about them other than they've played well this year. I've coached in the Big Sky and know some players on the team so there is some familiarity there, but we'll dig into more detail following our first game of the tournament."
Fans can follow the weekend's action through the live stats links provided above or by checking out the Ladyjacks on Twitter (@SFA_WBB).
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