SFA Takes on TCU Wednesday in WNIT Rematch
12/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Complete Game Notes 
Stephen F. Austin (4-4) at TCU (6-2)
Wednesday, December 9 • 7:00 p.m.
University Recreation Center • Fort Worth, Texas
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In-Game Twitter Updates: @SFA_WBB
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- In its third straight game away from home, the Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team is set for battle against TCU on Wednesday night at the University Recreation Center. The Ladyjacks will look to get even with the Horned Frogs after falling to the Big 12 foe in the first round of the WNIT last March. SFA will also look to spoil TCU's 11-game home winning streak when the teams collide starting at 7:00 p.m.
STORYLINES
• After starting the 2015-16 season 4-1 under first year head coach Mark Kellogg, the Ladyjacks have dropped their last three games to move to 4-4 on the year. SFA has been in each of the three games down the stretch during the skid, losing by an average of just 7.0 points with one overtime defeat. The `Jacks haven't lost four consecutive tilts since early in the 2012-13 season.
• SFA last met TCU on March 19, 2015 in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament. After securing the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the postseason tourney for winning the regular season title, the Ladyjacks pushed the Horned Frogs to the brink but ultimately fell just short, 85-80, in Fort Worth. Led by Porsha Roberts' career-high 35 points, SFA outscored TCU 49-39 in the final 20 minutes to overcome a 16-point first half deficit and climb within three points with 14 seconds to play. The Ladyjacks are 2-3 all-time against the Frogs.
• The Ladyjacks are coming off two tough losses in the Hospitality Hill Tournament hosted by the University of North Texas last weekend. Despite using a 24-point turnaround in the second half to go up by seven with under three minutes to play, SFA fell short against IUPUI, 62-55, in overtime. The next day, the `Jacks ran out of steam in the closing minutes of a highly competitive match with Weber State, falling 56-46. Taylor Ross led SFA with 11.0 points and 3.0 steals over the weekend.
• Junior guard Taylor Ross has lived up to her 2015 Preseason All-SLC hype so far this year. The Pflugerville native boasts a team-best 18.5 ppg with 18 assists and 15 steals in six games played. She has scored in double figures in every contest. Ross has tallied 20 or more points in SFA's last three wins, averaging 23.3 ppg and shooting 58.5 percent from the field. Over the current three-game losing streak, she has scored 13.7 ppg on 37.1 percent shooting.
• Redshirt sophomore forward Stevi Parker has been a workhorse for the purple and white through eight games this year. She is nearly averaging a double-double a night with 9.1 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game. Parker, a native of Bixby, Oklahoma, has hauled in at least nine boards in each of the last five games with 10+ rebounds in four of the five. She has one double-double on the year, coming in the form of a 20-point, 11-rebound outburst against SIUE on Nov. 27.
GAME NOTES
• LAST TIME OUT: The Ladyjacks are coming off a tough 56-46 loss against Weber State at the UNT Hospitality Hill Tournament last Saturday afternoon. Taylor Schippers (11 points) and Taylor Ross (12 points) kept SFA in the game until the very end but the Wildcats were able to creat just enough separation down the stretch to take home the victory. Stevi Parker finished the game with nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
• FAST START FOR ROSS: In six games this season, junior guard Taylor Ross is averaging 18.5 points per game. The scoring mark is the best in the Southland Conference and ranks 55th nationally. Ross has put up at least 10 points in every contest, with a career-high 28 points against SIUE in her first game of the year at UMKC. She has led SFA in scoring in every game she’s played in this season.
• STEADY SCHIPP: Senior guard Taylor Schippers has been consistent for the Ladyjacks all year in her first season in the purple and white. She has scored in double figures in five of eight games and recorded an assist in every game. She is averaging a steady 10.4 ppg on the year and leads the team with 28 assists in eight games.
• STEVI IN CHARGE: Sophomore forward Stevi Parker leads the team with 20 charges taken so far in 2015-16. She is coming off a big week, taking five charges on Friday night against IUPUI and adding three more on Saturday against Weber State. She is chasing 36 for the season – a total she set at Tulsa her freshman year.
• HOT SHOOTERS: SFA has shot the ball well over the first eight games of the year. The ‘Jacks’ 42.6 field goal percentage is tops in the SLC and their three-point field goal percentage of 39.3 percent is the best in the league and 17th-best in the country. Junior Brentney Branch leads the team from distance with a 55.9 percent make rate (7th in the nation). It is the best mark in the SLC.
• TOURNAMENT CHAMPS: The Ladyjacks had a successful trip to the midwest over the Thanksgiving break, claiming the UMKC Plaza Lights Classic tournament title in Kansas City with a 2-0 record. SFA first beat SIUE, 82-74, behind 28 second half points from Taylor Ross and a monster 20-point, 11-rebound double-double from Stevi Parker. The next day on Nov. 28, the ‘Jacks secured the perfect week with a 71-62 win over Indiana State. Ross once again had a big game with 20 points and Brentney Branch added 19 points with a 5-for-7 shooting night from three-point range.
• ALL-TOURNAMENT: After averaging 24.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in two victories in Kansas City, Taylor Ross was named the UMKC Plaza Lights Classic MVP. Her 28-point performance in the second half of Friday’s win was a new career-high. Stevi Parker was also recognized for her outstanding play over the weekend by being selected to the All-Tournament Team.
• NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Junior guard Taylor Ross was SFA’s star during the week of Nov. 23, scoring at least 20 points in all three contests for the team. 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 Nov. 30 for her recent success on the hardwood.
• HISTORIC BLOWOUT: The Ladyjacks pulled off one of the most lopsided wins in program history after routing LSU-Shreveport 94-39 on Nov. 24 inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. The 55-point victory is the largest margin in an SFA win since 1999 when the Ladyjacks beat Centenary, 99-40.
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