Wednesday, February 21
Conway, Arkansas
7:00 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
22-4, 14-1SLC
55
at
50
Central Arkansas
18-8, 11-4SLC
1
2
3
4
F
Stephen F. Austin
12
14
11
18
55
Central Arkansas
11
12
17
10
50
Photo by: Josh Goff | UCA Athletics
Ladyjacks Claim Gritty 55-50 Road Win at Central Arkansas Wednesday
2/21/2018 10:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SFA overcomes 32.1 percent shooting, including 10 percent from long range, to upend Sugar Bears in pivotal Southland road contest
CONWAY, Ark. – Through 15 games of the 18-game Southland Conference schedule, the Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team knows they will be playing in the semifinals of the 2018 Southland Tournament after a 55-50 road victory at Central Arkansas Wednesday night. The Ladyjacks (22-4, 14-1 Southland) guaranteed a double bye and no worse than a No. 2 seed at the league's postseason tournament in Katy, Texas, with the win.
In a defensive struggle that saw both teams shoot under 37 percent for the entire 40 minutes of on-court action, SFA committed a season-low seven turnovers and overcame a 32.1 percent (17-for-53) shooting clip. The Ladyjacks outrebounded the host Sugar Bears (18-8, 11-4 Southland) 36-33 and 14-11 on the offensive glass, while holding UCA to 36.2 percent (17-for-47) from the field.
Despite averaging 9.85 three-pointers per game over the last seven contests, SFA was held to just 2-of-20 (10 percent) from beyond the arc Wednesday but got a momentum-changing top-of-the-key trey from freshman point guard Marissa Banfield (Friendswood, Texas) early in the fourth quarter.
"In those games one shot changes the whole momentum," head coach Mark Kellogg said following the game "I, obviously, thought the Banfield three was one of those momentum changers. Stevi wasn't really going per se but we finally got her to the free-throw line and she iced it there for us at the end. Then the Riley Harvey and-one was just a huge play out of that baseline out-of-bounds situation."
"We just executed enough," coach Kellogg continued. "They (UCA) missed from free throws late that they would probably like to have back but you feel like it's such a good win because of the respect we have for that program being the back-to-back defending champions. That's what we want and that is what we're playing for. This was our best road win of the season and I'm really, really proud of them."
After the Sugar Bears controlled the opening tip, the Ladyjacks were relentless on both ends of the floor and showed great rebounding on both the offensive and defensive glass. A three-pointer by junior forward Imani Johnson (Lee's Summit, Mo.) capped a 12-0 SFA run to start the game and gave the Ladyjacks a commanding 12-2 advantage with 3:43 remaining in the first quarter.
Holding UCA scoreless for over a five-minute span beginning at the 8:55 mark of the opening quarter, the Ladyjacks were unable to get a bucket four over four minutes of action continuing into the second period as the Sugar Bears went on a 9-0 run. UCA took a three-point 16-13 lead at the 8:13 mark of the second quarter following a Kamry Orr three-point play. After a jumper from UCA's Orr made it 22-18 in favor of the Sugar Bears, SFA went on an 8-0 run capped by a jumper from senior forward Stevi Parker (Bixby, Okla.) to put the Ladyjacks back in front 26-22.
UCA got a free throw before the break but SFA took a 26-23 lead into halftime as the Ladyjacks committed just three first-half turnovers and were plus-five on the boards (19-14).
A layup by junior guard Chanell Hayes (Texarkana, Ark.) gave SFA its largest lead of the third quarter at 28-23 just 10 seconds into the second half. However, the Sugar Bears would outscore the Ladyjacks 17-6 over the following nine and a half minutes of play to mount a six-point 40-34 lead. It would be the home team's largest lead of the night as Parker converted a conventional three-point play to end the third quarter.
Parker's play setup a pivotal 8-0 run by SFA that lasted through the first two minutes of the fourth quarter and ended on Banfield's momentum-changing three, giving the Ladyjacks a 42-40 lead with just over eight minutes to go. A jumper by Parker put SFA ahead 48-44 with 3:25 to go before the Sugar Bears scored five consecutive points to retake the lead at 49-48 with 1:42 showing in the fourth.
The most crucial play of the night came on the Ladyjacks' ensuing possession. Sophomore forward Riley Harvey (Howe, Texas) made an acrobatic layup from the right, underneath side of the backboard and got fouled in the process. She knocked down the free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play and put SFA ahead for good at 51-49 with 1:18 remaining.
A missed three-point attempt and then an offensive team rebound led to UCA getting fouled twice with under 30 seconds left in the game. The Ladyjacks picked up their fifth team foul as the Sugar Bears' Kierra Jordan went to the charity stripe. She missed the front end of the two-shot foul and SFA got the ball back with just 14 seconds to go and up 51-50. Parker nailed two clutch free throws to make it 53-50 before the Sugar Bears threw the ball away following a timeout. Fouled once more with nine ticks remaining, Parker showed no nerves as she drained the final free throws to ice the game at 55-50.
UCA missed a pair of foul shots at the four-second mark to make the 55-50 score final.
"It was going to be a defensive battle, it always is," coach Kellogg commented. "Everybody talks about their (UCA's) defense and rightfully so. They are unbelievably good defensively but we think we have a pretty good defensive group too and I think the more we keep playing, the better we get defensively. We do it differently than they do it, the way we defend and the way they defend, but you can do it different ways and have success. 'Defense travels' is a saying that we use. You're not always going to make shots but your defense can travel anywhere and tonight it obviously traveled pretty well."
Parker led all Ladyjack scorers with 18 points and nine rebounds, going 10-of-13 at the free-throw line, while Hayes had a near double-double with 11 points and nine boards. Harvey finished with nine points and three rebounds.
SFA made 19 of its 26 foul shots (73.1 percent).
Parker needs just eight more points to become the 32nd career 1,000-point scorer in Ladyjack basketball history.
The Sugar Bears' Orr led all players with a game-high 24 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Two of UCA's top three scorers this season, Taylor Baudoin and Kierra Jordan, fouled out in the fourth quarter.
The Ladyjacks have now won five straight and 16 of its last 17. The victory was SFA's first in Conway, Arkansas, in three years since the 2014-15 season. The Ladyjacks are now 12-9 all-time against UCA.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will enjoy the comforts of William R. Johnson Coliseum for the final time of the regular season this Saturday, Feb. 24 when SFA battles Lamar with a 3:30 p.m. tipoff. The game will be featured as Senior Day with Ladyjack seniors Stevi Parker and Taylor Jackson to be honored. ESPN3, available everywhere via the ESPN app and WatchESPN, will carry the live broadcast with Bobby Mauro providing play-by-play over the airwaves on Q107.7 FM.
SFA will close out the regular season with a pair of road games at Abilene Christian next Wednesday, Feb. 28 and in Huntsville, Texas, against Sam Houston State on Saturday, March 3.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack women's basketball throughout the season.
-SFA-
In a defensive struggle that saw both teams shoot under 37 percent for the entire 40 minutes of on-court action, SFA committed a season-low seven turnovers and overcame a 32.1 percent (17-for-53) shooting clip. The Ladyjacks outrebounded the host Sugar Bears (18-8, 11-4 Southland) 36-33 and 14-11 on the offensive glass, while holding UCA to 36.2 percent (17-for-47) from the field.
Despite averaging 9.85 three-pointers per game over the last seven contests, SFA was held to just 2-of-20 (10 percent) from beyond the arc Wednesday but got a momentum-changing top-of-the-key trey from freshman point guard Marissa Banfield (Friendswood, Texas) early in the fourth quarter.
"In those games one shot changes the whole momentum," head coach Mark Kellogg said following the game "I, obviously, thought the Banfield three was one of those momentum changers. Stevi wasn't really going per se but we finally got her to the free-throw line and she iced it there for us at the end. Then the Riley Harvey and-one was just a huge play out of that baseline out-of-bounds situation."
"We just executed enough," coach Kellogg continued. "They (UCA) missed from free throws late that they would probably like to have back but you feel like it's such a good win because of the respect we have for that program being the back-to-back defending champions. That's what we want and that is what we're playing for. This was our best road win of the season and I'm really, really proud of them."
After the Sugar Bears controlled the opening tip, the Ladyjacks were relentless on both ends of the floor and showed great rebounding on both the offensive and defensive glass. A three-pointer by junior forward Imani Johnson (Lee's Summit, Mo.) capped a 12-0 SFA run to start the game and gave the Ladyjacks a commanding 12-2 advantage with 3:43 remaining in the first quarter.
Holding UCA scoreless for over a five-minute span beginning at the 8:55 mark of the opening quarter, the Ladyjacks were unable to get a bucket four over four minutes of action continuing into the second period as the Sugar Bears went on a 9-0 run. UCA took a three-point 16-13 lead at the 8:13 mark of the second quarter following a Kamry Orr three-point play. After a jumper from UCA's Orr made it 22-18 in favor of the Sugar Bears, SFA went on an 8-0 run capped by a jumper from senior forward Stevi Parker (Bixby, Okla.) to put the Ladyjacks back in front 26-22.
UCA got a free throw before the break but SFA took a 26-23 lead into halftime as the Ladyjacks committed just three first-half turnovers and were plus-five on the boards (19-14).
A layup by junior guard Chanell Hayes (Texarkana, Ark.) gave SFA its largest lead of the third quarter at 28-23 just 10 seconds into the second half. However, the Sugar Bears would outscore the Ladyjacks 17-6 over the following nine and a half minutes of play to mount a six-point 40-34 lead. It would be the home team's largest lead of the night as Parker converted a conventional three-point play to end the third quarter.
Parker's play setup a pivotal 8-0 run by SFA that lasted through the first two minutes of the fourth quarter and ended on Banfield's momentum-changing three, giving the Ladyjacks a 42-40 lead with just over eight minutes to go. A jumper by Parker put SFA ahead 48-44 with 3:25 to go before the Sugar Bears scored five consecutive points to retake the lead at 49-48 with 1:42 showing in the fourth.
The most crucial play of the night came on the Ladyjacks' ensuing possession. Sophomore forward Riley Harvey (Howe, Texas) made an acrobatic layup from the right, underneath side of the backboard and got fouled in the process. She knocked down the free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play and put SFA ahead for good at 51-49 with 1:18 remaining.
A missed three-point attempt and then an offensive team rebound led to UCA getting fouled twice with under 30 seconds left in the game. The Ladyjacks picked up their fifth team foul as the Sugar Bears' Kierra Jordan went to the charity stripe. She missed the front end of the two-shot foul and SFA got the ball back with just 14 seconds to go and up 51-50. Parker nailed two clutch free throws to make it 53-50 before the Sugar Bears threw the ball away following a timeout. Fouled once more with nine ticks remaining, Parker showed no nerves as she drained the final free throws to ice the game at 55-50.
UCA missed a pair of foul shots at the four-second mark to make the 55-50 score final.
"It was going to be a defensive battle, it always is," coach Kellogg commented. "Everybody talks about their (UCA's) defense and rightfully so. They are unbelievably good defensively but we think we have a pretty good defensive group too and I think the more we keep playing, the better we get defensively. We do it differently than they do it, the way we defend and the way they defend, but you can do it different ways and have success. 'Defense travels' is a saying that we use. You're not always going to make shots but your defense can travel anywhere and tonight it obviously traveled pretty well."
Parker led all Ladyjack scorers with 18 points and nine rebounds, going 10-of-13 at the free-throw line, while Hayes had a near double-double with 11 points and nine boards. Harvey finished with nine points and three rebounds.
SFA made 19 of its 26 foul shots (73.1 percent).
Parker needs just eight more points to become the 32nd career 1,000-point scorer in Ladyjack basketball history.
The Sugar Bears' Orr led all players with a game-high 24 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Two of UCA's top three scorers this season, Taylor Baudoin and Kierra Jordan, fouled out in the fourth quarter.
The Ladyjacks have now won five straight and 16 of its last 17. The victory was SFA's first in Conway, Arkansas, in three years since the 2014-15 season. The Ladyjacks are now 12-9 all-time against UCA.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will enjoy the comforts of William R. Johnson Coliseum for the final time of the regular season this Saturday, Feb. 24 when SFA battles Lamar with a 3:30 p.m. tipoff. The game will be featured as Senior Day with Ladyjack seniors Stevi Parker and Taylor Jackson to be honored. ESPN3, available everywhere via the ESPN app and WatchESPN, will carry the live broadcast with Bobby Mauro providing play-by-play over the airwaves on Q107.7 FM.
SFA will close out the regular season with a pair of road games at Abilene Christian next Wednesday, Feb. 28 and in Huntsville, Texas, against Sam Houston State on Saturday, March 3.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack women's basketball throughout the season.
-SFA-
Team Stats
SFA
UCA
FG%
.321
.362
3FG%
.100
.250
FT%
.731
.632
RB
36
33
TO
7
13
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
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