SFA Takes on TCU in WNIT First Round Thursday
3/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament
University Recreation Center | Fort Worth, Texas
First Round: Thursday - 7:00 p.m.
WNIT Central
Audio:GoFrogs.com
Live Stats:GoFrogs.com
Twitter Updates:@SFA_WBB
SFA WNIT Game Notes
Tournament Bracket
STORY LINES
• The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team heads to Fort Worth to play TCU in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. It is the first time since 2010, and fourth time in program history that the Ladyjacks have been selected to participate in the WNIT, going 2-3 in the previous three trips. The Ladyjacks are 2-2 all-time against TCU, most recently falling to the Horned Frogs last season on December 4 on the road, 60-52.
• The Ladyjacks are coming off an early exit in the 2015 Southland Conference Tournament last weekend. Despite having the one seed and earning two byes into the semifinals, SFA lost to eighth-seeded Houston Baptist in the semis to miss out on a trip to the tournament championship and end the hopes of going to the NCAA Tournament. Porsha Roberts led SFA with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting while also posting a team-high eight rebounds and four steals in Saturday's game. She scored 16 points in the first half to help her team build an early 18-point lead. HBU scored 51 points in the second half to complete the comeback win.
• With SFA's win over the Lady Demons on March 5, head coach Brandon Schneider earned his 400th career coaching win. Now in his fifth season at SFA, Schneider is currently 95-65 and has the fifth most wins in program history. With a .746 winning percentage between Division II Emporia State and SFA, Schneider ranks 15th all-time among coaches with at least 10 years experience as a Division II coach. He has now guided the Ladyjacks to back-to-back SLC titles for the first time in 13 years.
• The Ladyjacks claimed three major conference awards at the end of the regular season as Porsha Roberts was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and Brandon Schneider picked up Coach of the Year accolades with the release of the 2014-15 postseason awards. Roberts became the program's 11th SLC Player of the Year recipient and first since 2007 while being named the league's top defensive player for the second straight year. Taylor Ross (second team) and Tierany Henderson (third team, defensive team) also received All-Conference nods.
• SFA was one of the hottest teams in the nation, winning 11 straight games to end the regular season. The streak, which spanned from Jan. 31-March 7, was the 13th-longest active streak in the NCAA at the time. The Ladyjacks also finished the year by winning 15 consecutive games at home - the 10th-best active streak in the nation.
NOTES
• COMING IN HOT: The Ladyjacks entered the 2015 Southland Conference Tournament as the number one seed for the 15th time since 1988 and first since 2006. The squad grabbed the top spot and earned two byes in Katy after winning 11 straight games to end the season. Of the 11 wins, 10 came by at least eight points.
• FINISHING STRONG: SFA had a big week at home to close the regular season, clinching the program's 17th SLC title outright and the number one seed in the SLC Tournament with a 56-45 win over Northwestern State on March 5. The Ladyjacks then closed the regular season with a 79-65 victory over rival Sam Houston State on March 7. The squad used a balanced attack offensively as five Ladyjacks scored in double figures while seven scored at least eight points.
• SLC'S BEST: SFA's Porsha Roberts was rewarded for a huge senior year by being named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year last week. The 6-2 center out of Waco averaged 17.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game during league play and led the conference in field goal percentage (64.4) and offensive rebounds per game (4.7). For the second consecutive year, Roberts was honored with the award for the league's top defensive player. A three-time All-Defensive team selection over her career, Roberts led the conference in blocks per game (2.2) in SLC action while exerting her dominance on the galss as the top rebounder in the league as well.
• REMEMBER WHEN: The Ladyjacks' 2014-15 regular season record of 23-6 and 16-2 league mark are both bests for the women's basketball program since the 2001-02 season. That year, SFA went 24-6 (19-1 SLC), won the SLC Championship and went to the NCAA Tournament. The Ladyjacks' 11-game winning streak to end the season was the longest since that same 2001-02 club won 16 straight.
• MILESTONE WATCH: Two weeks after becoming just the second Ladyjack in history to make 200 career three-pointers, Tierany Henderson is closing in on another significant milestone. The senior has 991 career points - just nine points shy of becoming the latest member of SFA's 1,000-point club. Teammate Porsha Roberts recently became the sixth leading scorer in program history, surpassing Tammy Mayo (1980-84) last week after building her point total to 1,880.
• REBOUNDING MACHINE: Porsha Roberts tied a career-high with 19 rebounds on March 5 against Northwestern State and now has 996 career rebounds - four boards shy of joining the 1,000-rebound club. Roberts ranks sixth all-time in SFA history in the category.
• KEY TO SUCCESS: When sophomore guard Taylor Ross scores 15 points or more in a game this season, the Ladyjacks are 13-1 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.
• ICING GAMES: The Ladyjacks are 20-2 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 81-6 when holding a lead with five minutes left in games. Last season, his team went a perfect 20-0 in those circumstances.
• AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: Senior center Porsha Roberts had a huge season in league play. She averaged nearly a double-double in 18 SLC games (17.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg) while shooting 64.4 percent from the field. She notched a double-double seven times in 2015 and 11 times overall on the season. Roberts ranks among the nation's best in several statistical categories, sitting second in field goal percentage (62.3), eighth in offensive rebounds per game (4.6) and 53rd in blocks per game (2.2).
• CONFERENCE TEAM RANKINGS: SFA finished the SLC season among the top in several statistical categories among the 13-team league. The Ladyjacks ranked first in field goal percentage (.433), blocked shots per game (5.1), assists per game (15.6) and assist to turnover ratio (1.0) while sitting second in scoring margin (+9.7), scoring defense (58.7) and field goal percentage defense (.372).
• ON A HOT STREAK: The Ladyjacks are 18-3 since beating Arizona on Dec. 20. Their three losses over the span have come by six points against McNeese State on Jan. 3, one point against Sam Houston State on Jan. 24 and seven points against HBU last week.
• WHAT'S NEXT: If the Ladyjacks win on Thursday night, they will advance to play the winner of the Texas Southern/Southern Miss game.
-SFA-
