Stephen F. Austin
Houston Baptist (SLC semifinals)
SFA Falls to HBU in SLC Semifinals, 88-81
3/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
KATY, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to Houston Baptist in the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon, falling 88-81 inside the Merrell Center.
The number one seed coming into the tournament, the Ladyjacks (23-7) were knocked out of the SLC tournament and out of line for an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by the eighth seeded Huskies (15-17). Despite the loss, SFA will receive an automatic nod to the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) with its regular season SLC title in 2014-15.
Senior center Porsha Roberts led SFA with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting while also posting a team-high eight rebounds and four steals. The SLC Player of the Year had a monster first half, scoring 16 points and hauling in six rebounds to help the Ladyjacks take a 41-37 advantage into the break.
Guards Taylor Ross and Brentney Branch also helped SFA battle a hot HBU squad in a 40 minute dogfight. The sophomore duo contributed 14 points apiece, with all of Branch's total coming in the second half. Branch went 4-for-5 from deep in the game and played a huge role for SFA in the middle of the final frame.
Rounding out the Ladyjack top scorers were seniors Tierany Henderson and Brittney Matthew who each tallied nine points. Henderson played just 18 minutes after getting into early foul trouble. She went a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point land while Matthew led the team with six dimes on the afternoon.
SFA jumped all over HBU early in the first half, using a 24-5 run from 15:58 to 8:37 to build a 30-12 cushion - the biggest of the game for either side. That lead was quickly erased however, as the Huskies answered with a 10-0 spurt to cut the SFA lead to 30-22. Houston Baptist ended the first period on a 25-11 run overall.
HBU's Tayler Jefferson gave her team the first lead of the second half (51-50) on a three-pointer with 15:07 to play. From there, both teams went back and forth until the final whistle. Jefferson scored 18 of her game-high 29 points in the second half to help her team prevail. She knocked down 6 of 9 three-point attempts as the Huskies went 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from outside as a team.
Trailing 80-76 with 36 seconds left in regulation, Henderson drilled a clutch three-pointer from the corner to bring SFA back to within one, 80-79. After a pair of HBU free throws, Matthew got a floater to go in the lane with 15 seconds left to maintain the one point margin, 82-81. But the Ladyjacks ran out of time and the Huskies converted their free throw opportunities in the waning seconds to come away with the 88-81 victory.
HBU has now won three games in three days to punch their ticket to the SLC Tournament championship game on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
Despite leading in turnover margin (14-20) and second chance points (22-6), SFA got outshot by HBU from the field. The Huskies fired at a 60.4 percent clip (29-for-48) while the Ladyjacks shot 44.8 percent (30-for-67) in the game. HBU scored 51 points in the second half to SFA's 40 to earn the comeback win.
The Ladyjacks will now wait to see where they will be playing in the first round of the WNIT, which will be announced on Monday evening. The postseason tournament will begin in the middle of next week.
-SFA-
