Ladyjacks Win Overtime Thriller in Hattiesburg to Close Out Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic, 83-79

Saturday, November 25

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

2:00 p.m

Stephen F. Austin

4-1

Alcorn State

3-3

OT 1

Stephen F. Austin

Alcorn State

Ladyjacks Win Overtime Thriller in Hattiesburg to Close Out Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic, 83-79

11/25/2017 6:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SFA shoots a season-high 45 free throws in the contest

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – It wasn't pretty, but a resilient and gritty effort from the Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team allowed them to pull away from a pesky Alcorn State squad to win Saturday's game by an 83-79 score in overtime. SFA struggled with shooting and the defensive press generated by the Lady Braves, but were lifted to victory with some excellent free throw shooting and moments of strong defensive play, coupled with some clutch baskets down the stretch.

The Ladyjacks prevailed in their first overtime contest of the season, but needed a clutch basket by Parker to get there, as Alcorn State clawed back into the game late in the fourth quarter and took a three-point lead with just seven seconds left in the contest. After calling a timeout to draw up a play, SFA's inbounds pass went to Riley Harvey, who drove baseline and passed to Stevi Parker in the corner, who drilled the clutch shot to send the game into overtime. Once there, the 'Jacks took the lead and forced the Lady Braves to make shots to keep pace. After a pair of missed free throws by Alcorn State with 21 seconds left, the 'Jacks closed out the game with free throws down the stretch.

"I'm really proud of our determination and effort to play to the final horn", said SFA head coach Mark Kellogg. "It took all 40 minutes and overtime to get it done. It certainly wasn't our best effort, but we found a way to win. Stevi came through in hitting the big three and was fantastic on the boards all night. Kennedy (Harris) was huge for us and Alyssa (Mayfield) came through and played fantastic as well."

Mayfield led the way with a team-high 22 points, and went 11-14 from the line while giving the Ladyjacks a much-needed offensive spark in the third and fourth quarters. Parker notched a season-high 17 rebounds to go along with 17 points, recording her third double-double of the season in the win. Kennedy Harris totaled 14 points and four rebounds, while Riley Harvey chipped in 11 points and six boards. The Ladyjacks now improve to 4-1 on the season, having won four straight after the season opener at Kansas State.

The opening minutes of the game went about as bad as SFA could've hoped. Alcorn State scored the first four points of the contest, and quickly ran out to a 13-6 lead as SFA struggled in the full court press, turning the ball over three times in the first three minutes of play. After the Lady Braves opened up a 20-9 lead in the first with 2:01 remaining the Ladyjacks strung together two layups and a free throw to end the quarter on a 5-0 run, and would trail20-14 after one frame of play.

As bad as the opening quarter of play went for the Ladyjacks, the second quarter would be even more bleak for the Lady Braves, as SFA outscored them 8-0 in the first five minutes of the court to take a 22-20 lead, the 'Jack's first lead of the afternoon. An Alcorn State layup would briefly tie the game up before SFA continued the onslaught, as two pairs of free throws from Mayfield and Marissa Banfield staked them out to a four point lead. A layup from Kennedy Harris pushed it to a six-point lead, and a final pair of free throws from Parker got it up to 30-22 with 2:13 left to play. SFA was emboldened by its success, however, and Alcorn State turned them over three times in quick succession, scoring layups after each to trim the lead to 30-28 heading into the halftime break.

After play resumed in the third quarter, the 'Jacks continued to push their advantage as the Lady Braves continued sloppy play both on offense and defense, racking up fouls and turnovers. Mayfield's trifecta at the seven-minute mark got the lead back to double-digits briefly (41-31), before a 14-1 run by the Lady Braves over the next three and a half minutes dramatically changed the landscape of the game. What had been a game headed for a comfortable result for SFA became a grudge match in the blink of an eye, as the 'Jacks were forced to rise to the occasion. Stringing together baskets by Kennedy Harris, Riley Harvey and a pair of free throws from Mayfield, the 'Jacks carved out another narrow lead heading into the fourth quarter of play (52-50).

Even with their team heavily in foul trouble, the Lady Braves fought tooth and nail in the fourth quarter, thrice falling behind the Ladyjacks and rallying to tie or take the lead on each occasion. The guard tandem of Tia Sanders and Alexus Freeman each came up with clutch basket after clutch basket to keep the team's hopes alive, and a trifecta from Sanders with 1:13 left seemed to take the wind out of SFA's sails. A crucial turnover on the ensuing SFA possession gave Alcorn State the ball back with nine seconds remaining, and Freeman sank a pair of free throws after an SFA foul to take a 70-67 lead over the Ladyjacks. That set the stage for Parker's clutch corner three, which came after an SFA timeout.

The overtime period would bring about two more ties, the sixth and seventh of the game, before SFA would take a 78-76 lead on a Harris free throw with 38 ticks left on the clock. From there, the 'Jacks went up by five on a pair of Parker free throws, but Sanders answered with a triple on the other end to make things interesting with nine seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Parker would catch the ball near midcourt and be checked into the scorers table by her defender and earning her two shots. Her free throws brought the game to a close with an 83-79 final score, and bringing the 'Jacks above .500 in road games this season.

SFA had a poor shooting performance on the day, connecting on just 20-55 (36.4 percent). A handful of blown layups in the third and fourth quarter would have likely iced the game for SFA sooner on in the contest, but in the end it was a 38-45 (84.4 percent) performance at the free throw line that proved to be the difference. Prone to gambling for turnovers and looking for big play blocks down low, the Lady Braves committed 35 personal fouls in the contest, and gave SFA a huge opportunity to keep pace offensively at the free throw stripe.
"We didn't shoot the ball well, but we got to the free throw line and converted at a high rate to help us get the result", Kellogg added. "Credit to Alcorn State, because they came at us relentlessly throughout the entire game."

The Ladyjacks held a +7 edge in rebounding (47-40) on the day, and held a healthy 39-14 advantage in bench scoring. Even then, the 'Jacks committed 23 turnovers on the day, which contributed to 32 points for Alcorn State, 12 of which came on the fast break. The game featured seven ties and 11 lead changes.

SFA returns to action on Tuesday, with a quick turnaround leading up to a home bout with Central Baptist College at William R. Johnson Coliseum. Tip-off for that game is set for 5:00 p.m.

-SFA-