Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
Seniors Lift SFA Over NWLA Late, 69-61
2/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NATCHITOCHES, La. – Tierany Henderson drilled a three-pointer with 1:12 left to play, Brittney Matthew drained a triple of her own with 30 seconds on the clock and Porsha Roberts sealed the deal at the line to help the Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team outlast Northwestern State 69-61 on Thursday night in Prather Coliseum.
In a game filled with runs and momentum shifts, the trio of Ladyjack seniors were rock solid down the stretch. With the game tied at 59-59, back-to-back long balls off the hands of Henderson and Matthew all but iced the game.
Henderson poured in a career-high 23 points on an efficient 8-for-12 shooting performance. She connected on 6 of 10 three-point attempts and picked up a double-double after securing 10 rebounds. She added two assists, two blocks and one steal to her balanced stat line.
Taylor Ross also had a huge night for the Ladyjacks (14-6, 7-2 SLC), contributing 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting and dishing out a game-high six assists.
Roberts joined Ross and Henderson in double figures with 16 points. She made four of her six field goal attempts and did most of her damage at the charity stripe, going 8-for-9 on the night. Roberts was bottled up for most of the first half and had just two points heading into the break. Her dominance down low couldn’t be contained for long though, as she exploded for 14 points in the second frame. The Waco native added eight rebounds.
After jumping out to a 7-2 lead behind five points from Ross, the Ladyjacks went into a scoring drought lasting 7:30. During the span, the Lady Demons went on a 17-0 run to build a 19-7 advantage. SFA would turn things around however, increasing the defensive pressure to close out the half. Henderson caught fire and Ross executed a pair of three-point plays to help SFA end the half on a 29-8 run, including a 13-0 spurt in the final 4:01.
The Lady Demons (12-10, 7-4 SLC) erased a 36-27 SFA halftime lead in a hurry to open things out of the break. NWLA outscored SFA 14-2 in the first 5:32 in the half to jump ahead 41-38. The two teams battled back and forth the rest of the way with the Ladyjacks’ veterans coming up clutch in the final minutes.
The Ladyjacks will look to make it three wins in a row when they return home to face Houston Baptist on Saturday afternoon in William R. Johnson Coliseum. First tip is set for 4:00 p.m.
-SFA-
