Stephen F. Austin
2-0,0-0Southland
Alcorn State
0-2,0-0SWAC
Banfield and Johnson Lead Ladyjacks in 67-62 Victory over Alcorn State
11/9/2019 5:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Aiyana Johnson goes for 17 and 17 as SFA stays perfect
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Aiyana Johnson put forth a 17-point, 17-rebound double-double, Marissa Banfield added a game-high 18 points and the SFA women's basketball team fended off Alcorn State, 67-62, Saturday inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
FIRST QUARTER
• The only lead the Lady Braves held came when Aysha Kirkland scored the game's opening bucket on a put-back. From there, Kennedy Harris and Marissa Banfield splashed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions which kick-started the Ladyjacks' 10-2 run that gave the hosts the lead for good.
• That surge extended SFA's lead to 10-4, but the Ladyjacks' lead never reached double-digits. A driving layup by Stephanie Visscher with 26 seconds to go extended the hosts' lead to 17-10 - their largest of the quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
• Aiyana Johnson made it a point to assert her dominance and, as a result, SFA headed into the locker room up five at the break. The sophomore scored the Ladyjacks final 10 points of the frame on an array of post moves and put-backs and accounted for all but five of the team's 15 in the quarter.
• Alcorn State closed to within two when Toddriana Isler connected on a mid-range jumper to open the frame, but Aaliyah Johnson answered with a smooth finish on the other end to put the hosts ahead 19-15.
• A 30-percent (6-for-20) shooting clip did hinder the Ladyjacks' efficiency in the quarter, but SFA continued its dominance on the glass to offset that shooting percentage. Aiyana Johnson secured her 10th rebound of the tilt late in the quarter, helping her squad finish with a 28-15 edge on the glass at the break.
THIRD QUARTER
• Finally able to put some distance between themselves and the Lady Braves, the Ladyjacks pushed their lead to double-digits late in the second half. Zya Nugent converted a put-back layup with 3:36 to go which made matters 40-30.
• Banfield added one of her five makes from downtown before the quarter came to and end which helped the home team push its lead to 43-32 - its largest of the frame.
• SFA held Alcorn State to a shooting clip of just 27.8-percent (5-for-18) in the quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
• Able to get some early momentum going, SFA started the final quarter on a 7-0 run that featured another Banfield three-pointer as well as layups by Noelle Yancy and Riley Harvey. That helped the hosts open up a 55-41 lead, but Alcorn State was undeterred by SFA's early barrage of offense.
• Right after Nugent's fast-break layup extended SFA's edge to 59-44, Alcorn State made its move. A pair of Kirdis Clark were sandwiched around a LaRae Rascor three-pointer to help the visitors cut SFA's lead to 59-51 with 4:08 to go.
• Nugent canned another jumper, this one with 2:07 left, in order to push SFA's lead back to 66-55, but the Lady Braves made one last push.
• A 7-0 run trimmed SFA's lead down to 66-62 with 12 seconds left, but Banfield sank a free throw for the final margin.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Banfield and Aiyana Johnson accounted for 52-percent of the Ladyjacks' point total and were the only two players to hit double-digits. Nugent finished with nine points while Banfield and Visscher passed out five assists each.
• Jada Hargrove accumulated a team-high 16 points for Alcorn State and was one of three Lady Braves who posted double-digit points in their second-straight loss to start the season.
COMING UP NEXT
• One week separates the Ladyjacks from their next game and it'll be a big one Saturday inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA plays host to UCF at 3:00 p.m. that day in a premier non-conference showdown that will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
-SFA-
