Stephen F. Austin
Houston Baptist
SFA Clinches Share of 17th SLC Title
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SFA 69, HBU 57
HOUSTON, Texas - For the second season in a row and the 17th time in program history, the Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team will finish with at least a share of the Southland Conference regular season title after the Ladyjacks took care of Houston Baptist 69-57 on Saturday night inside Sharp Gym. The Ladyjacks improve to 21-6 overall and 14-2 in SLC play with the victory.
With just two games remaining in regular season action and a 1.5 game lead over Lamar, SFA can finish no worse than tied for first this season. Because the Ladyjacks beat the Lady Cardinals in both meetings this year, they hold the tiebreaker and therefore claim the number one seed in the 2015 SLC Tournament after Thursday night's win.
The SLC championship is the Ladyjacks' 17th title all-time - 14 more than the next current league member (Northwestern State).
"We obviously have more work to do - we have goals beyond this one - but it's definitely a terrific accomplishment," said head coach Brandon Schneider. "It's really, really hard to win at this level. I couldn't be more proud of our players, coaches and support staff."
The Ladyjacks got a balanced offensive effort from Taylor Ross, Porsha Roberts and Brittney Matthew to complement tremendous defense, especially in the second half. The Huskies (11-17, 5-12 SLC) were held to just 19 points on 24.1 shooting in the second as SFA surged to the 12-point victory.
Ross led all Ladyjack scorers with 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting. Ten of her points came in the first half as she found a lot of success driving the ball to the rim in the first 20 minutes.
Roberts, on the other hand, exerted her dominance in the second half, scoring 12 points while shooting at a 4-for-5 clip. She finished the night with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Rounding out the double digit scorers was Matthew with 14 points. Like Ross, Matthew connected on 50 percent of her shots from the field (6-for-12) while also shelling out a game-high four assists.
The first half was played within a six point window each way with the Huskies owning a 38-34 edge at the break. Ross banked in a floater as time expired in the opening period and the Ladyjacks kept that momentum on their side to start the second.
Coming out of the locker rooms, SFA opened up with a 13-2 run to regain the lead at 47-40 with 15:36 to play. HBU would take the lead 50-49 with 10:54 to go, but a Matthew jumper at the top of the lane put SFA back on top 51-50 just 19 seconds later.
SFA wouldn't relinquish the lead the rest of the way. Matthew, Roberts and Brentney Branch combined to mount an 8-0 run from 4:49 to 2:38, essentially putting the game out of reach for HBU at 66-54.
The Ladyjacks outscored the Huskies 35-19 in the final frame as HBU went cold from the field (7-for-29 shooting). Another big cause for the lopsided score was the increased defensive pressure. SFA forced 14 of HBU's 25 turnovers in the second half, led by Tierany Henderson with five steals. Roberts, Matthew and Ross all swiped three steals on the night.
The Ladyjacks can clinch the SLC regular season title outright with a win next week against Northwestern State or Sam Houston State as SFA hosts each program to close out the 2014-15 season. The Lady Demons come to William R. Johnson Coliseum on Thursday night for a 5:30 p.m. tip before the Bearkats make the trip to Nacogdoches for Saturday's 4:00 p.m. contest.
Both games will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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