Wednesday, December 19
Albuquerque, NM
5:30 PM CST
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Hampton University
Ladyjacks Set to Compete in Lobos Invitational Hosted by New Mexico
12/18/2018 5:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SFA plays in second tournament of 2018-19 season
Ladyjacks vs. Hampton
Lobos Invitational
Dreamstyle Arena
Wednesday, December 19 | 4:30 p.m.
2018-19 Media Guide | Game Notes (PDF) | Watch | Listen | Live stats
ALBUQUERQUE, NM. – The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team returns to action in its second tournament action of the non-conference schedule on Wednesday. SFA is one of four teams playing in the Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque on Wednesday and Thursday, with a Wednesday matchup against Hampton kicking off the tournament's action. The Ladyjacks (7-2) will square off with the Lady Pirates (4-3) at 4:30 p.m. MT (5:30 p.m. CST), with the winner advancing to face the winner of the New Mexico/Sacramento State nightcap on Thursday. Lobos Invitational
Dreamstyle Arena
Wednesday, December 19 | 4:30 p.m.
2018-19 Media Guide | Game Notes (PDF) | Watch | Listen | Live stats
Fans can catch a call of all the action on the airwaves at FM Q107.7 within the Nacogdoches area and nationwide via the TuneIn app. Video links for both of SFA's games can be found at the top of the page as well as the SFA schedule page. Fans can also follow along with the Ladyjacks via live stats and Twitter (@SFA_WBB). Games not including New Mexico will not be streamed by UNM and instead will be shown on Facebook Live courtesy of the SFA Women's Basketball page.
Playing inside UNM's famous Dreamstyle Arena, also known as "the Pit", the Ladyjacks will play their first neutral site contest of the season against Hampton. Formerly of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, The Lady Pirates are underway in their inaugural season in the Big South Conference, and most recently moved above .500 on the season with a lopsided victory over Mid-Atlantic Christian University. Solid guard play and a pesky defense which forces turnovers have carried the way for Hampton thus far, as they average 27 points per game off turnovers. Laren VanArsdale leads the way with 16.7 points per game, while teammate Ashley Bates chips in 15.6 points.
The winner of Wednesday's contest will face the winner of the 8-1 host Lobos and the high-powered offense of Sacramento State (85.8 points per game, 7thNCAA D1), who will square off in Wednesday's nightcap. New Mexico sits at 8-1 on the season thanks to a healthy 15.3 scoring margin on the season, and averages more than 4700 fans for each home contest. Sacramento State has made firepower its calling card, as the seventh-highest scoring offense in Division I basketball features three double-digit scorers. Hannah Friend leads her squad with 22.0 points per game, while Kennedy Nicholas (16.2) and Tiara Scott (14.5) contribute to the cause as well. The Hornets have done plenty of damage to opponents with outside shooting this season, converting on 41.8 percent of attempts and knocking down an average of 9.5 per game.
For SFA, there's been no place like home this season, but the need to step away from the friendly confines and the team's flawless record means that SFA will have a chance to accredit itself better than it did in losses to Power Five programs Miami and Texas Tech earlier this season. A balanced scoring offense centered around senior Chanell Hayes (15.6 ppg) and post players Imani Johnson (12.3) and Riley Harvey (10.2) is a good place to start, while fellow starters Stephanie Visscher and Marissa Banfield have both contributed solidly in multiple categories this season. Despite converting on a lower percentage of looks from deep in the past for our five games, SFA is still hitting three-pointers in some quantity, with an average of eight per game.
Defensively, the Ladyjacks continue to shown an ability to turn over their opponents and turn those miscues into points, as opponents average 20.8 turnovers per game. All three possible opponents for SFA in the Lobos Invitational have had good success in turning over their opponents this season, adding extra emphasis on taking care of the ball in the week's contests.
TIP-OFF TIDBITS
• When SFA plays in New Mexico tomorrow it will mark the 12thdifferent state in which the Ladyjacks have competed in during the tenure of head coach Mark Kellogg. SFA is 16-12 in games played outside the state of Texas during that span.
• SFA women's basketball ranks within the top 50 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (48th), assists per game (25th), free throws made (39th), scoring margin (39th), steals (42nd), steals per game (33rd) and three-point field goals per game (29th).
• Hampton is the fourth opponent on SFA's 2018-19 schedule that has never faced SFA in program history. SFA is 3-0 in those matchups this season.
• Chanell Hayes needs just three more made three-pointers to break into SFA's career Top Ten list for made three-pointers. The Texarkana native currently has 115 made treys.
Players Mentioned
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