Ladyjacks at UTRGV for First Round of WBI
3/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Stephen F. Austin (25-7, 14-4 SLC) vs. UT Rio Grande Valley (18-13, 8-6 WAC)
UTRGV Fieldhouse – Edinburg, Texas
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch | TV: Spectrum Sports Channel
EDINBURG, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team travels the farthest south they have all season to compete in the first round of the WBI Tournament on Thursday, March 16. This is SFA’s 30th post season tournament appearance and third time to participate in the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI).
In the WBI, the Ladyjacks are 3-2 after they first competed in the tournament in 2012. The 2011-12 season saw SFA bow out early after losing to Northern Iowa in the first round, 83-67. The Ladyjacks accepted their second bid to the WBI in 2014. That year, SFA easily blew through the first three rounds of competition to put them in the title game against UIC. The Ladyjacks’ title hopes were crushed though in a 73-64 verdict that named UIC the champion.
This season, SFA will be squaring off first against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The Vaqueros will be hosting SFA at their home stadium in Edinburg. The Ladyjacks have not played against UTRGV, formerly Texas-Pan American, since 2011-12. SFA is undefeated against the Vaqueros, 8-0, and had only been to Edinburg twice in program history. The All-Time Series between these two teams marks of one SFA’s biggest scoring margins, where SFA has scored over an hundred points against UTRGV four consecutive times. The margin of points averages at 47.88 points, with the biggest margin being 71 points (112-44) in 1995.
Last Time Out: Stephen F. Austin made its 29th appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament on March 10-12. Picked as the number three seed, SFA was granted a first round by which put them in the quarterfinal round. SFA swiftly dealt with McNeese, 77-63, and advanced to face No. 2 Lamar the next day. The Ladyjacks once again were victorious over Lamar, thanks to a double-double from redshirt junior Stevi Parker. The Ladyjacks then placed themselves in the title game for the 20th time in program history. Only the well-known foe, Central Arkansas, stood between SFA and the trophy. A hard fought game pursued, but SFA’s offense struggled to find its pace against the Sugar Bears. Central Arkansas won the back-to-back title, 60-35.
Scouting UT-Rio Grande Valley: The fourth-seeded University of Texas Rio Grande Valley women’s basketball team fell to fifth-seeded UMKC 77-69 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament Quarterfinals on Wednesday at Orleans Arena. Senior Shawnte’ Goff led UTRGV (18-13) with a season-high 30 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including 3-of-7 from behind the arc, plus 7-of-8 from the line, four assists and three steals. Junior Hildur Björg Kjartans­dóttir scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds. Junior Weslaco alum Laura Van Tilburg scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting with seven rebounds and one block. Sophomore Nichele Hyman finished with eight points and a career-high five steals.
Next Up: Should the Ladyjacks win, they will advance to the second round and face the winner of the Lamar/Rice game. The second round is schedule to take place on either March 18 and 19.
-SFA-
