Ladyjacks Fend off Crafty Colonels, Earn Southland Win in Thibodaux, 86-73

Wednesday, January 3

Thibodaux, Louisiana

6:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

10-3, 2-0

Nicholls

6-8, 1-2

Stephen F. Austin

Nicholls

Ladyjacks Fend off Crafty Colonels, Earn Southland Win in Thibodaux, 86-73

1/3/2018 9:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Hayes scores career-high 25 points as SFA improves to 10-3 overall (2-0 SLC)

By: Kevin Meyer| Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

THIBODAUX, La. – Earning a Southland Conference win is rarely easy, and the task becomes exponentially harder on the road. The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball took Nicholls' best in the form of a torrid third quarter surge and emerged victorious despite it on Wednesday night. SFA's offense was explosive in the win, as the Ladyjacks connected on more than half of their shots to improve to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in Southland Conference play.

Chanell Hayes came through with a dominant effort in the win, pouring in a career-best 25 points to lead all scorers. The Texarkana, Texas native hit eight of 12 attempts from the field and was 4-6 from beyond the arc. Taylor Jackson and Imani Johnson each chipped in 16 points on the night to pace Hayes.

"Well it's always nice to get a road win, and that was our first true road win of the year," said SFA head coach Mark Kellogg. "I thought we were solid through three quarters, got the lead up to 18 and then we just turned it over in transition and gave up too many threes in that quarter. We were efficient on offense finally, we shot it really well from the field and the free throw line, both of which were nice to see. I thought a lot of people played really good minutes tonight, and I'm proud of the way they played in picking up the win."

In facing one of the Southland Conference's most multi-faceted players in the Colonels' Cassidy Barrios, shutting her down completely was a tall task. Instead, the Ladyjacks focused on limited her impact as the Colonel's offensive centerpiece, and the junior finished just 3-15 on the night for 10 points. Overall, Nicholls shot 42.9 percent (27-63) from the field and 9-18 from beyond the arc.

Nicholls got off to a hot start, scoring the game's first points and jumping out to a 7-3 lead on a layup by Marina Lilly with 7:32 left to play in the first quarter. From there, the 'Jacks perked up and went on a 9-0 run, thanks in part to Hayes, who scored five straight points to turn a 7-4 deficit into a 9-7 lead, a lead SFA would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest. After a Riley Harvey layup with 29 seconds left gave Nicholls a chance for a final shot in the quarter, a steal by Marissa Banfield and a 16-foot running jumper to beat the first-quarter buzzer would give the visitors a 20-14 lead after the opening quarter.

The second quarter began as a veritable track meet, as the teams combined for 40 points in the quarter and very little defense. SFA would thrice extend the lead to ten points in the opening four minutes of play, before extending it out to fifteen points with 1:16 remaining in the quarter on a three-pointer by Jackson. With a halftime lead of 43-31, the game appeared to be well in hand for SFA, but that proved to be far from the case when the game returned to action in the third quarter.

Coming into the matchup, Nicholls had not been notably effective with the three-ball, but in the third quarter the home team came roaring back to life with a 28-point frame courtesy of five trifectas. Tykeria Williams, the team's premier deep threat entering the contest, proved to be every bit as menacing as predicted, knocking down a trio of three pointers in the frame alone. The 'Jacks would actually extend the lead out to a game-high 18 points on a jumper by Stevi Parker with 3:44 remaining in the quarter before Nicholls began to claw their way back in. Back-to-back three pointers by Barrios and Tia Charles quickly brought the score to 58-46, and seven more quick points followed a pair of Hayes free throws to cut the lead down to single digits at 60-51 with 1:47 left. After Marissa Banfield briefly got the 'Jacks back up by double-digits with 1:33 remaining, Nicholls once again went on the offensive, ending the third quarter on a 8-0 run to cut the lead to just three, 62-59.

Things wouldn't get much better for the 'Jacks to open the final quarter of play, as the Colonels twice trimmed the lead to just one point and threatened to wrest the lead away from SFA. The Colonels tenacity and aggressiveness could not be sustained, however, and as their shot once again went cold the Ladyjacks seized control of the game for good with a 6-0 run spanning two minutes. After a Nicholls basket, the 'Jacks kept the foot on the gas and expanded the lead out to double-digits once more on the back of a pair of Hayes three-pointers. From then on, the Ladyjacks remained firmly in control and cruised to a final score of 86-73.

"Traditionally we've gotten good looks against Nicholls.," detailed Kellogg. "They mix up their defenses a little bit and if you're patient you'll get some looks against them. Chanell got some of those good looks tonight and was knocking those down for us. I like the way we kept attacking throughout the game, we didn't settle for those shots and we got to the free throw line a lot in the second half."

A big test for SFA was being able to score effectively and consistently without relying on turnovers, and the 'Jacks did that and more on Wednesday. Forcing less than 20 turnovers for just the second time this season, SFA got only 18 points off Colonel miscues and instead took advantage of a porous defense to convert a white-hot 52.6 percent of shots on the night. A 38-29 advantage on the boards helped contribute to a 44-28 advantage in points in the paint for SFA, which scored effectively down low throughout the contest. Lastly, a 19-24 effort at the line helped ice the game for the Ladyjacks, as a pair of foul shots each from Hayes and Kia Fisker down the stretch helped stave off a Nicholl's counterattack.

"We've still got a lot to do on the defensive end.," continued Kellogg. "Giving up 73 we have a chance to lose because you're not always going to score 86. We did well on Barrios, she didn't really get going till later on. We were really solid for three quarters defensively, we just lost our marks and they started to gain a little momentum."

Next up for SFA is another road tilt, this time a Saturday matinee against Northwestern State on Jan. 6 in Natchitoches. The Lady Demons dropped a 62-56 decision to A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday to fall to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in SLC play.

-SFA-