Ladyjacks Tally Season-High 13 Three-Pointers in 83-48 Rout of Lady Demons

Saturday, February 10

Nacogdoches, Texas

3:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

19-4 (11-1SLC)

Northwestern State

7-17 (2-11SLC)

Northwestern State

Stephen F. Austin

Ladyjacks Tally Season-High 13 Three-Pointers in 83-48 Rout of Lady Demons

2/10/2018 6:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SFA holds opponent under 50 points for sixth time this season

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team didn't bother waiting for the second half to levy the decisive blow against visiting Northwestern State, as the Ladyjacks surged ahead at half with a veritable deluge from deep and coasted to a 83-48 victory. The win improves SFA to 19-4 on the season and 11-1 in the Southland Conference, and marks the Ladyjacks' 15^th straight victory at home dating back to last season.

The barrage was a far cry from the first meeting between the teams, when SFA was forced to find a way to win without the deep ball, converting just four attempts from deep the entire game. In Saturday's rematch at William R. Johnson Coliseum, it took the Ladyjacks just a quarter and a half to eclipse that mark on the way to a season-high 13 trifectas on 27 attempts, a blistering 48 percent mark. Even more impressive was the matchup, as Northwestern State came into the game with the top-ranked 3-point defense in the Southland, allowing opponents to shoot just 28.4 percent on those attempts in conference play.

"The first time we played them was during that stretch where we weren't shooting it particularly well and sharing the ball the way we like to, and of course you like to think you'd shoot the ball better here at home anyways, but it's not a surprise to see our kids knock those shots down and today we were able to do that," said SFA head coach Mark Kellogg.

Chanell Hayes led the Ladyjacks with 17 points and four assists, while Stevi Parker tallied 15 points and eight rebounds. Lovisa Brunnberg tallied a season-high 13 points (3-4 3-pt), while Marissa Banfield chipped in 11 points on 3-6 shooting from beyond the arc. All 11 active Ladyjacks saw time in the win, with all 11 scoring and notching at least one assist, as SFA registered 25 dimes on 30 made baskets.

"The result was great, the final score looks good," said Kellogg. "We'll start off with the negative, I didn't really like how we started the first three quarters, but outside of that we settled in pretty good. We shared the ball unbelievably well, the best we've done all year, and to have 25 assists on 30 made shots is special, it's what we'd like to pride ourselves in, and its fun to play that way. Nice to see the ball goal in the hoop, we wanted to hold the below 50 and we did that, so I'm happy for the girls and we'll get ready for the next."

After spending the opening possessions trying perhaps a bit too hard to get the ball down low against the smaller Lady Demons and turning it over as a result, a change in strategy was in order. A timeout called by SFA head coach Mark Kellogg with the 'Jacks trailing 6-1 was the catalyst for the offensive shift, as the 'Jacks came out of the timeout firing from outside the arc. The 'Jacks hit threes on three straight possessions after a layup by Hayes to claim a 12-10 lead with 4:57 left to go in the opening stanza. A pair of layups from Parker and two free throws with three seconds left by Riley Harvey gave SFA the early 18-10 lead heading to the second quarter.

The second quarter was more of the same for the 'Jacks, who opened the frame with a trey from Marissa Banfield and kept scoring against a depleted Lady Demons squad missing two starters. After a few minutes of the teams trading baskets, the Ladyjacks began a scoring run with just under four minutes in the second quarter to widen the gap. Hayes opened the run with a trifecta, which the 'Jacks followed with an Imani Johnson layup and a Brunnberg trey in short order. After a Northwestern State jumper, Parker got in on the act and drained a three-ball to increase the lead to 40-19 with 1:30 remaining. A solitary free throw by the Lady Demons would be the final score of the first half, and the 'Jacks would carry the healthy 42-23 lead into the break.

The 'Jacks had already doubled their total three-pointers made from the first meeting of the two teams by the halfway point, but didn't let up the offensive aggressiveness by even one iota in the second half. With the Lady Demons patrolling the arc with added emphasis in the third, the 'Jacks attempted just four trifectas and hit just one. Shifting the offense once again, the 'Jacks pushed the ball inside, scoring 16 points in the paint in the stanza and shooting 9-16 in the period to tally 22 points and grow the lead out above 20 points.

Four more trifectas, all by reserves, helped boost the 'Jacks out to a game-high 37 point lead in the fourth quarter, as well as help SFA set a new season-high in made attempts. SFA would add 19 more points in the fourth to offset the Lady Demon's highest-scoring quarter, with 14 points, and coasted comfortably to the win as a result.

In addition to a 13-2 advantage in made three pointers during the game, SFA built up a heavy edge in points in the paint (32-14), points off turnovers (31-15) and bench scoring (41-8). SFA forced 26 Lady Demon turnovers and racked up 16 steals along the way.

-SFA-