Wednesday, January 17
Nacogdoches, Texas
7:00 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Abilene Christian
Battle of Southland Unbeatens Set to Rock William R. Johnson Coliseum Wednesday
1/16/2018 4:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SFA looks to avenge home loss to Wildcats last season
Wednesday vs. Abilene Christian
7:00 p.m | Nacogdoches, Texas | William R. Johnson Coliseum
Live stats | Audio | Video | SFA Game Notes | ACU Game Notes
7:00 p.m | Nacogdoches, Texas | William R. Johnson Coliseum
Live stats | Audio | Video | SFA Game Notes | ACU Game Notes
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Anytime two equally matched forces collide, it is the way of things that one force gives way to the other.
Such will be the case on Wednesday night in Nacogdoches, as two of the three unbeaten teams in Southland play meet to loosen up the logjam atop the conference standings. The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team will put its seven-game winning streak on the line against Abilene Christian (12-4, 6-0 SLC) in the midweek matchup, and only one will preserve its flawless start to SLC play. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
The matchup will be shown on ESPN3, with a radio call of the action available to fans on FM 94.7 KVLL courtesy of Bobby Mauro. Fans are encouraged to follow the live stats via the link above or on the sfajacks.com schedule page, and can get an inside look at the matchup via the game notes link listed above.
While building an impressive season-high seven game winning streak, SFA has had to win in a variety of ways. At times, a dominant offense laced with scoring options carried the day, while in others it was a few pivotal defensive plays that turned the tide for the Ladyjacks on a day when the offense could not. The streak includes jaunts through the first five conference matchups on the season, three of which came on the road, and all of which ended in Ladyjack victories. Most recently, that streak grew with a 60-49 win over Incarnate Word last Saturday in Nacogdoches, a grueling battle through 40 minutes of play ended only when the Ladyjacks defense stood stalwart for the final minute and a quarter of play.
In that victory, SFA's offense was not up to the task, as the Ladyjacks posted their lowest point total of the home schedule thus far and lowest in a win since the 54-46 win over Montana in WRJ Coliseum last season. Few bright spots emerged on the offensive end in a game where SFA shot just 35.5 percent from the field, but guard Taylor Jackson shone brightest among them. The Frisco, Texas native notched career-highs in points (20), three-pointers (5) and steals (6) in the contest, and was instrumental in leading the Ladyjacks to the victory. The solid performance was the sixth game in a row in which the senior guard tallied double-digits, and has helped her emerge as a solid scoring option alongside Stevi Parker (11.7 points) and Chanell Hayes (11.1).
Defensively, SFA got back on track with a strong performance in holding the Cardinals to just five first quarter points (tying a season-low) and 49 points overall. One of the nation's top turnover producing defenses, SFA elicited 28 turnovers by UIW in the contest and scored 26 points off those turnovers, a recipe for success that has helped SFA turn the heat up on opponents throughout the season. That performance was the first 20+ turnover game forced by the Ladyjacks in the last three games, an unexpected decline after routinely forcing opponents to turn the ball over 20+ times a game. An aggressive defense that turns over their opponents is a major strength for SFA, but the ability to score and win without turning over their opponents over is also important as the 'Jacks play host to some of the more ball-conscious teams in the league.
In scouting the Wildcats, a balanced and unselfish offense stocked with shooters will provide a thorough test for the Ladyjack's defense. A trio of players (Dominique Golightly, Breanna Wright and Sara Williamson) each average over 13 points to lead the way on the offensive end for ACU, which has also established itself as one of the most unselfish units in the Southland with a league-best 16.53 assists per game. While ranking near the top in total assists, the Wildcats also take good care of the ball and have surrendered the third-lowest turnovers of any Southland program, with 259 on the season (17.3/game).
Wright and Williamson share the bulk of the ball handling duties for ACU, ranking first and second on the team in assists, respectively, with 78 and 66 on the season. Golightly leads the team in rebounds with 6.9 per game, and also have connected on the highest amount of three-pointers, with 42 in the campaign on 36.8 percent from beyond the arc. Averaging 78.2 points per game, the Wildcats rank second in the conference in scoring, edging out SFA by 1.9 points per game (76.3).
The first of two matchups between the teams this season, Wednesday's matchup will be the ninth meeting in the all-time series, with SFA owning a narrow 5-3 edge over ACU in the shared history. Despite having just a 1-2 record against ACU there after last season's 80-73 loss to ACU, the 'Jacks have to like their chances inside venerable William R. Johnson Coliseum. Since 1979-80, the Ladyjacks have posted a 443-92 (.828) winning percentage there, including a 59-10 record since 2013-14 and the 8-0 record there possessed by the 'Jacks in 2017-18.
After facing ACU on Wednesday, SFA will face fellow Southland unbeaten Central Arkansas the following Wednesday on Jan. 24 in Nacogdoches, another clash of the two of the conference's premier women's basketball programs.
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Players Mentioned
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