SFA Faces SLC's Best in Battle For First
2/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Complete SFA Game Notes (PDF)
Game 24: Stephen F. Austin (17-6, 10-2 SLC) vs. Lamar (14-10, 11-2)
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 19 • 7:00 p.m.
Site: William R. Johnson Coliseum
Radio: Q107.7 FM | Live Stats | Live Stream
@SFA_WBB (#AxeEm/#ToughAndTogether)
Game 25: Stephen F. Austin (17-6, 10-2 SLC) vs. Nicholls State (14-10, 10-3 SLC)
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 21 • 4:00 p.m.
Site: William R. Johnson Coliseum
Radio: Q107.7 FM | Live Stats | Live Stream
@SFA_WBB (#AxeEm/#ToughAndTogether)
Team Information
Stephen F. Austin
Head Coach: Brandon Schneider (Wayland Baptist, 1995)
Career Record: 395-136 (17th season) | Record at SFA: 89-64 (5th season)
Lamar
Head Coach: Robin Harmony (Miami, 1984)
Career Record: 163-71 (8th season) | Record at Lamar: 32-23 (2nd season)
Nicholls State
Head Coach: DoBee Plaisance (Southern Miss.)
Career Record: 237-343 (20th season) | Record at Nicholls: 80-120 (7th season)
QUICK NOTES
• With first place in the Southland Conference standings up for grabs, the Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team will play two of the top three teams in the league this week inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA, Lamar and Nicholls are the only three teams in the conference with at least 10 wins in league play. Nicholls is currently on a seven-game winning streak, Lamar has won six straight and SFA has won five straight and 10 of its last 11 dating back to Jan. 5.
• Thursday night’s battle against Lamar is a rematch from SFA’s 59-55 victory in Beaumont on Jan. 22. The Ladyjacks built a 21-point lead in the first half of the contest. Lamar has won all six games played since falling to SFA. The Ladyjacks lead the all-time series with the reigning SLC Co-Champions, 51-13.
• Saturday's game against Nicholls will be the final new team SFA will face in league action this season. The Colonels seven-game winning streak is the best in the SLC this year. From 1984-2010, the Ladyjacks owned a 39-1 advantage in the all-time series while Nicholls is 4-2 against SFA in the last six meetings. Four of the Ladyjacks’ five losses in the series have come by just one point, including each of the last three.
• SFA earned two big wins on the road last week against Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. With the pair of SLC victories, the Ladyjacks improved to 17-6 overall on the season - the best record through 23 games in a season for the program since 2001-02. That team also started 17-6 and finished with a 24-7 mark, an SLC title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
• Porsha Roberts is coming off a huge week. She poured in 32 points against AMCC on Saturday to tie a career-high in the 74-62 victory. The senior center made 12 of 21 shots from the field and went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the ESPN3 game. Overall on the week, Roberts averaged 26.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.5 assists, shot 64.5 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from the line. She was named the Southland Conference Player of the Week for her efforts.
• The Ladyjacks are 12-2 since beating Arizona on Dec. 20, 2014. Their two losses over the span have come by six points against McNeese State on Jan. 3 and one point against Sam Houston State on Jan. 24.
• When Taylor Ross scores 15 points or more in a game this season, the Ladyjacks are 11-1 overall. The lone loss came in the first game of the season against LA Tech. It was a career night for Ross, who poured in a career-high 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting while dishing out five assists. SFA lost 76-69.
• The Ladyjacks are 14-2 this season when leading with 5:00 to play in regulation. Since taking over as head coach prior to the 2010-11 season, Brandon Schneider's SFA teams are an impressive 75-6 when holding a lead with five minutes left in games. Last season, his team went a perfect 20-0 in those circumstances.
• Senior center Porsha Roberts is off to a hot start to SLC play. She is nearly averaging a double-double in 12 league games (19.2 ppg, 9.7 rpg) while shooting 66.4 percent from the field and has notched a double-double five times in 2015 (9 overall). Roberts ranks among the nation’s best in several statistics, sitting second in field goal percentage (63.0), eighth in offensive rebounds per contest (4.7) and 34th in blocks per game (2.4).
• Since moving into a reserve role on Jan. 8, Charisma Alexander has really played good basketball coming off the bench. She is averaging 5.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg and is shooting 62.2 percent from the field (23-for-37) in the span.
• The Ladyjacks have forced 410 turnovers this year, making their opponents cough up the ball an average of 17.8 times per game. SFA leads the conference with a 0.99 assist to turnover ratio this season.
• The Ladyjacks have enjoyed a fair share of success in William R. Johnson Coliseum this season. SFA is 10-1 at home on the year, averaging 74.9 ppg while limiting opponents to 60.7 ppg. In seven of the last nine home games, opposing teams have failed to score more than 60 points. SFA has won 10 straight in Nac overall.
• The Ladyjacks will play at home in five of their last six games, including a game against Incarnate Word next Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m.
For a complete look at SFA’s game notes, click here.
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