Friday, November 10
Manhattan, Kansas
5:30 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
at
Kansas State
Ladyjacks Open 49th Season of Competition With Road Contest at Kansas State
11/8/2017 10:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SFA faces third Big 12 opponent in past four seasons
Friday vs. Kansas State
SFA WBB Season Opener
5:30 p.m | Manhattan, Kansas | Bramlage Coliseum
Live stats | Game Notes | Audio | Video
SFA WBB Season Opener
5:30 p.m | Manhattan, Kansas | Bramlage Coliseum
Live stats | Game Notes | Audio | Video
MANHATTAN, Kansas—Two storied programs of Division I women's basketball will square off on Friday evening when the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks play the Kansas State Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum. Both programs have a long-standing tradition of success, with SFA beginning it's 49th season of operation and Kansas State beginning its 50th.
For SFA, that track record of success comes in the form of being one of just eight Division I women's basketball programs to have eclipsed 1,000 career wins. That mark was reached in current head coach Mark Kellogg's premier season at the helm of the Ladyjacks, and has now blossomed to 1,030 total wins after a 25-win campaign last season. Despite narrowly missing the mark in his first season as coach, Kellogg's second season was the 31st 20-win season in program history, an impressive mark in its own right.
The game will be broadcast for free on K-StateHD.TV, with free audio of the game provided for 'Jacks fans on Q107.7 with Robert Mauro on the call. Live stats can be found at kstatesports.com, or by following the link on the women's basketball schedule page at sfajacks.com.
Opening the season with a Big 12 opponent for the first time since the 1997-98 season (Oklahoma), the Ladyjacks will immediately face a tall test –quite literally—in the Wildcats, who boast a total of 10 players measuring in at 6'0" or higher, including a 6'7" center. It will also mark the second time that SFA has squared off against a Big 12 opponent in Kellogg's tenure (TCU, 2015-16), and the third time in four seasons.
"Kansas State is going to be a tough test right off the bat", explains Kellogg. "They're a well run and coached program, they've made it two the NCAA Tournament two seasons in a row and I have a lot of respect for them. They will just challenge us in a different way. We haven't played a team that's going to be a long as them, they are going to be 6'7, 6'4, 6'3 on that back line. We will never play anyone the rest of the year with that length."
The Ladyjacks will likely look much different in the upcoming campaign than they did in the one preceding it, as a host of players will be counted on to accept bigger roles on offense. The team will also look to diversify the offense that had previously counted on Taylor Ross to carry much of the load. Ross, the 2016 Southland Conference Player of the Year, led the team with 19.2 points last season. The 'Jacks will look to spread the floor with shooters at every position, a philosophy that ends itself to better quality shots in principle.
As the team gears up for the season, it's important to take stock of the returners from last season's squad and the 25 wins it amassed. That includes Stevi Parker, a Preseason All-Conference Second Team selection after finishing last season as an All-Conference Third Team honoree. The 6'0 redshirt senior from Bixby, Oklahoma averaged 11.2 points and 8.6 rebounds last season, and will be an important player in the frontcourt this season after starting all 33 games in the 2016-17 campaign. Fellow 33-game starter Kennedy Harris may be the team's best perimeter defender, and one of a handful of players that will be tasked with boosting her scoring average in the new campaign, Fellow winger Chanell Hayes possesses the size and athleticism to create mismatches with smaller players and is a lock to increase her role on the team in her junior campaign.
Every symphony needs a conductor, and if the 'Jacks are hoping to create poetry in motion and offensive rhythm to match, then they'll need a point guard to match. Enter senior Taylor Jackson, who will begin the season as the offensive linchpin. Jackson, a junior college transfer who was an All-American at Collin College, saw action in all 33 games last season and also made 10 starts. If Jackson can blossom into the starting point guard the Ladyjacks need, then the offense should come in bunches throughout the season.
As the Ladyjacks look to establish more of a post presence on the offensive end, redshirt junior Imani Johnson will be a key player to watch in the post. Johnson has a knack for scoring with her back to the basket, and could provide a consistent presence there that the 'Jacks missed at times last season. After sitting out last season due to transfer rules, the potential is there for Johnson to make a big impact for the 'Jacks this season.
When scouting the Wildcats, there are plenty of questions that come to mind. Ranking eighth out of ten teams in the Big 12 last season in scoring offense, K-State lost the two leading scorers from last season, and does not return a single double-digit scorer. Height is abundant for the Wildcats, which should aid them in matching last season's fourth ranked scoring defense in league play (62 ppg allowed), but the lack of a proven scorer among returners may play out in the Ladyjack's favor as the matchup approaches. A starting five for the Wildcats is, at this point, purely speculative, but likely includes a freshman at the point, returners Kayla Goth, Kaylee Page and Peyton Williams, along with a fifth spot potentially filled by a second freshman.
At the helm for the Wildcats is coach Jeff Mittie, who has accrued a 61-38 record in four seasons at K-State. He has posted 515 career wins over 28 years coaching, including 15 20-win seasons between four coaching stops at TCU, Arkansas State, Missouri Western and Kansas State.
SFA is 27-18 all-time in season openers, while Kellogg is 1-1 in season openers at SFA.
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