Ladyjacks Announce 2015-16 Schedule
9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
2015-16 SFA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin head women’s basketball coach Mark Kellogg today announced the complete schedule for the upcoming 2015-16 season. The Ladyjacks will play 11 non-conference games before starting the 18-game Southland Conference slate in January.
“The non-conference portion of our schedule features a great balance of home and away games,” said Kellogg. “We will be tested and put in difficult situations both on the road and in front of our home fans. Being put in tough spots against the quality teams that we’ll be facing will give our team the opportunity to develop character right away. We will definitely be able to see what we’re made of early on. We think that our non-conference schedule will prepare us for league play, which is the ultimate goal.”
The 2015-16 season opener is scheduled for Friday, November 13th against UT-Tyler. The game will be played in Nacogdoches on the brand new Tommie Jan & Elvin Lowery Court inside William R. Johnson Coliseum, which was completed in August.
SFA heads to Ruston, Louisiana on Saturday, November 21st for a rematch with LA Tech in what will be a battle between two of the top five winningest women’s basketball programs in NCAA history. The Lady Techsters handed the Ladyjacks their only loss at home last season – a tight 76-69 decision in the 2014-15 opener.
LSU-Shreveport comes to town on Tuesday, November 24th for a 7:00 p.m. tip before the Ladyjacks head to Kansas City to spend the Thanksgiving weekend at the UMKC Tournament. SFA will get games against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Indiana State on the trip.
On December 1st, SFA will host former SLC member UT-Arlington at William R. Johnson Coliseum starting at 7:00 p.m.
The Ladyjacks will then make their way to Denton for the University of North Texas Tournament from December 4th-5th. SFA plays IUPUI on Friday at 5:00 p.m. and Weber State at noon on Saturday.
The road trip continues to Fort Worth on Wednesday, December 9th for a rematch with TCU. The Horned Frogs ended the Ladyjacks’ season last March in the first round of the WNIT, 85-80.
SFA rounds out non-conference play at home against Rice on Saturday, December 19th and against Texas A&M-Commerce on Wednesday, December 30th. The Ladyjacks took care of Rice last December in Houston by a final margin of 70-59.
The conference slate will be mirrored from last year’s schedule as the Ladyjacks begin their quest for a third-straight regular season Southland Conference title. SFA’s SLC breakdown offers a home friendly advantage over the first half with eight of the team’s first 12 league games being played at home. Down the stretch, the Ladyjacks will be on the road for five of six heading into the SLC Tournament in Katy.
“Even though our team has a different look this season with a new coaching staff and a new group of players, we will still have a target on our back because of the SFA written across our chests,” said Kellogg. “We know that we are going to get every team’s best effort when they play us and it’ll be important for us to be ready to play night-in and night-out. When it comes to the conference, we’ll be striving to take care of our home court and to go out and try to steal games on the road. There is a long history of great women’s basketball at this school and we are going to do everything we can to keep that tradition going this season.”
The 2015-16 conference schedule begins in Nacogdoches as SFA hosts McNeese State on Saturday, January 2nd at William R. Johnson Coliseum, tipping at 4:00 p.m. The Ladyjacks lost to the Cowgirls in Lake Charles, Louisiana in the SLC opener last season before winning 16 of 17 the rest of the way to secure the league crown.
SFA will also play Central Arkansas (Jan. 7), Abilene Christian (Jan. 16), Lamar (Jan. 21), Sam Houston State (Jan. 23), Northwestern State (Feb. 4), Incarnate Word (Feb. 11) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 13) at home over the first seven weeks of the SLC schedule.
Starting on Thursday, February 18th, the Ladyjacks will begin the tough final stretch with Lamar in Beaumont at 7:00 p.m. SFA will then travel to Nicholls on Saturday, February 20th and Incarnate Word on Wednesday, February 24th.
The final home game of the 2015-16 season will be played on Saturday, February 27th against Houston Baptist – the team responsible for the Ladyjacks’ quarterfinal exit at last year’s SLC Tournament.
SFA will travel to rival territory on the final week of the season, playing at Northwestern State on Thursday, March 3rd and at Sam Houston State on Saturday, March 5th.
The 2016 Southland Tournament is set to run from March 9th-13th in Katy, Texas.
Season tickets for the 2015-16 men’s and women’s basketball seasons are now on sale through the SFA ticket office at (936) 468-JACK (5225).
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