Saturday, March 3
Huntsville, Texas
4:30 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
at
Sam Houston State
Ladyjacks Wrap Up Regular Season with Rivalry Contest in Huntsville
3/2/2018 2:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SFA and SHSU meet for 80th installment of Piney Woods Rivalry
Saturday at Sam Houston State
4:30 p.m | Huntsville, Texas | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Live stats | Audio | Video | SFA Notes
4:30 p.m | Huntsville, Texas | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Live stats | Audio | Video | SFA Notes
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After returning to its winning ways with a thumping of Abilene Christian on Wednesday, the Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team faces just one last hurdle in the 2017-18 regular season, a rivalry contest with the Sam Houston State Bearkats in Huntsville on Saturday. The last time the Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team faced rival Sam Houston State, the 'Jacks were riding a season-high nine game winning streak, and were sitting in sole possession of the Southland Conference lead with an unblemished record.
More than a month later, the landscape has changed slightly for the 'Jacks, who sit in second place behind Lamar in the conference standings, and can at least do their part to remain eligible for a co-championship with Lamar, should the Cardinals falter in their Saturday bout with McNeese. To do so, the 'Jacks will need to contend with a Bearkats squad (4-22, 1-16 Southland) that has nothing to play for past Saturday's contest, having failed to qualify for a Southland Tournament berth.
Tip-off for the game is set for 4:30 p.m, and the game will be shown on ESPN3. SFA fans can hear a radio play-by-play of the game on FM Q107.7, follow the live stats link listed above or on gobearkats.com, or follow the Ladyjacks on Twitter (@sfa_wbb) to get real time updates on the game.
The matchup will be the 80th all-time between the two teams, with SFA owning a 67-12 edge in the all-time series. That includes a 25-7 record in SFA's favor in games played in Huntsville.
In Wednesday's win over sixth-place Abilene Christian, the 'Jacks benefited from a spectacular first half effort in which they barraged the Wildcats with 10 three-pointers – a season-high for makes in one half – and would notch 12 threes in total on the way to a 78-52 victory. A career-high from Marissa Banfield (17) and a season-best 15 from Lovisa Brunnberg, who combined to shoot 7-10 from beyond the arc, led the way for SFA, but a total of five players would hit at least one trey in the win. While the 10 made threes in the first half may have been abnormal, SFA's ability to knock down shots from range was not, as the 'Jacks have now hit seven or more threes in 10 of the past 11 games, including five double-digit efforts in that span.
Saturday's matchup against the Bearkats will pit the Southland's second-best 3-point shooting team against the conference-worst perimeter defense of Sam Houston State. The Bearkats have allowed conference opponents to convert on 36.8 percent of looks from beyond the arc, and they have surrendered the second most makes (123) of any team in Southland play. That vulnerability has led to the Bearkats holding the Southland's worst scoring defense at 69.5 points per game, which is right about the scoring average for SFA's second-ranked scoring offense (70.3 points per game).
In the previous matchup between SFA and SHSU, the 'Jacks placed four in double figures, led by 17-point efforts from Stevi Parker and Taylor Jackson. Jackson matched a career high with five made three-pointers in the bout, while Parker notched a double-double with 11 boards and chipped in four assists for good measure. Also scoring in double figures were Chanell Hayes and Kennedy Harris, with Harris also dishing out six assists and notching three steals. The 'Jacks led 17-16 after the opening quarter, 35-30 at the half and outscored the visitors 40-23 in the final two quarters to earn the comfortable victory in front of over 4000 fans.
Leading the SFA offense is the trio of Parker, Jackson and Hayes, each of whom is averaging double figures for the purple and white. Imani Johnson notched 12 points in the win over the Wildcats and is chipping in an average of 7.6 points per game this season, while Kennedy Harris sounds out the starting lineup with 5.7 points per contest. The bench unit, though small in number, has been contributing whenever called upon during the conference season, as Banfield and Brunnberg bring added shooting depth to the table and score 6.2 and 5.6 points per game, respectively. Brunnberg also leads the Southland with a 45.2 clip from beyond the arc this season, the bets percentage among players with at least 50 attempts this season. The 'Jacks have also done an excellent job of making the extra pass this season, as they lead the conference with 280 assists and average 15.5 per game.
Running the show for the Bearkats is Jennifer Oramas, who leads the team with 10.3 points and 3.1 assists per game. Lydia Baxter chips in 9.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game from the forward position, while Rachel Harrell leads the 'Kats with 39 made three-pointers this season. At 56.5 points per game this season, Sam Houston State is third from the bottom in scoring average, thanks in large part to just a 36.2 shooting percentage from the field. The Bearkats also average 20 turnovers a game, representing an opportunity for SFA's pesky defense to gain extra possessions and open up the transition game.
With the Southland Tournament taking place next week in Katy, and the 'Jacks locked in as the second seed and owners of a double bye as a result, SFA's postseason berth has already been earned, regardless of Saturday's result. Plenty is at stake in the matchup, however, as a Lamar loss would see the two share a conference regular season title.
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