Saturday, November 18
Nacogdoches, Texas
1:30 p.m
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Howard Payne
Ladyjacks Set to Face Howard Payne in Non-Conference Home Tilt
11/17/2017 2:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SFA will play Howard Payne for first time in program history
Saturday vs. Howard Payne
1:30 p.m | Nacogdoches, Texas | William R. Johnson Coliseum
Live stats | Game Notes | Audio | Video
1:30 p.m | Nacogdoches, Texas | William R. Johnson Coliseum
Live stats | Game Notes | Audio | Video
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – For the Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team, opening the home schedule with a win on Tuesday against Coppin State was about more than equalizing its record at 1-1 for the season. SFA has a reputation to protect at William R. Johnson Coliseum, a tradition of winning that has spanned across 40 years of Ladyjacks basketball. That tradition will face its next test on Saturday, as Division III opponent Howard Payne comes to Nacogdoches to face the Ladyjacks.
The game will be broadcast for free on facebook.com/SFALumberjacks, with free audio of the game provided for 'Jacks fans on 94.7 with Bobby Mauro on the call. Live stats can be found at sfajacks.com, or by following the link at the top of this page.
SFA (1-1) and Howard Payne (0-0) will be playing each other for just the first time on Saturday, in a game that will count for SFA but goes into the books as an exhibition for the Yellowjackets. Howard Payne plays the first game of the 2017-18 campaign at UT-Tyler on Friday evening, and then faces a quick turnaround for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off in Nacogdoches. The game is the first bout of a SFA basketball twinbill, as the men's basketball team will face Howard Payne in the matinee following the women's contest.
No matter the level of competition, it's never a good idea to look down on an opponent, but in the case of Howard Payne, the 'Jacks may literally be looking down at many of the Yellowjackets, as the team's average height is just 5' 7". In addition, two of the projected starters and the two highest scoring returners from last season stand 5'4" and 5'5". Not so far removed from playing Big 12 foe Kansas State and a lineup that featured ten players standing 6'0" or higher, SFA should find itself with much more room to shoot come Saturday. The 'Jacks will own a significant height advantage at nearly every position, along with an edge in athleticism.
"At our level, we should have an advantage in both height and athleticism, and you have an idea of how that might play out, but a lot of it depends on how they play and what they do", explained Kellogg. "We talk about imposing our will on our opponents, and if we can do what we're supposed to, I think we should be able to impose our will come Saturday."
Through the first two games of the 2017-18 season, the 'Jacks have not gotten into the offensive rhythm that head coach Mark Kellogg thinks them capable of. While a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter against Coppin State to clinch the game showed the 'Jacks ability to turn defense into offense, the team has struggled from the field (41-121, .34 percent) and even more so from beyond the arc (8-45, .186) through the first two games. Despite those struggles, the 'Jacks are actively looking to improve on the opening two games, as evidenced by their work behind the scenes.
"I think our girls are beginning to understand what the expectation is and how to go about doing that", Kellogg said. One of the best signs I've seen is that we haven't been shooting it well, but we've had kids in the gym in the last week more than I've seen in a long time, we've had kids asking to watch film or have film sent to them, so that's the type of stuff you like to see. I think our kids are striving to find ways to get better."
This early in the season, it's hard to predict how the team will pan out offensively, although the talent level on SFA's roster will without a doubt lift them above the current scoring average of 60.5 points per game. While being in the shooting doldrums is nothing to be optimistic about, the 'Jacks know that a two-game sample size does not define them, nor their offense as it pertains to the remainder of the season. Stevi Parker is averaging a double-double and leads her team in both points (13.5) and rebounds (10.5) in the campaign's infancy, while Chanell Hayes posted 18 points in the win over Coppin State and may be poised to pick up the mantle of a consistent scoring option alongside Parker.
A lopsided loss in the opener and a double-digit win in the home opener has provided opportunities for the entirety of the 'Jacks roster to see the court, and early impressions for many of the bench unit have been positive. Freshman Marissa Banfield is the team's third-highest scorer with 6.5 off the bench, and might be the most accurate shooter from downtown on the team. Classmate Alyssa Mayfield showed no hesitancy in the opener against K-State on her way to seven points, while forward Aaliyah Johnson filled the stat sheet against Coppin State on Tuesday in just 19 minutes, posting nine points, three rebounds and four assists.
Even as the Ladyjacks have struggled to shoot at a high clip, the team's energy and effort have been evident and will continue to contribute towards the team finding a more consistent on-court product.
"We haven't questioned effort or energy yet, and that's a good thing", said Kellogg. "You're in a really bad spot if you're having to coach that. We need to find our identity on defense, get into a rhythm on offense and just put forth a consistent product. It's my hope that we'll be better on Saturday than we were on Tuesday, and on Tuesday we were better than we were the previous Friday."
The Yellowjackets are a bit of an unknown quality, with their season opener set to take place the evening before they play SFA. With its top two scorers from last season gone and no stats for the current season, Howard Payne gets the benefit of coming into the matchup as a relative unknown. What is know about the Yellowjackets is that they return a pair of small guards in Valarie Matlock and Presley McKethan, who notched 10.4 and 7.7 points per game last season, respectively. Matlock, who stands 5'5", also led the team in total assists with 101 last season. The junior had a hand in a third of her team's total baskets last season, either through scoring or assisting, and is likely to be the fulcrum of the offense in the new campaign. McKethan posted solid averages of 7.7 points and 3.9 assists last season alongside Matlock.
The Yellowjackets posted a 15-11 season last year in the American Southwest Conference, earning the ASC West Division Title for the second straight season under head coach Meia Daniels-Netter.
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Players Mentioned
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