Aiyana Johnson Sets New Career-High with 18 Points in Southland Conference Tournament Semifinal

Saturday, March 16

Katy, Texas

3:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

25-6

#6 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

17-15

Texas A&M-Corpus Chr

Stephen F. Austin

Aiyana Johnson Sets New Career-High with 18 Points in Southland Conference Tournament Semifinal

3/16/2019 5:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Islanders shoot 21 free throws to SFA's nine

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

KATY, Texas -- The semifinals of the Southland Conference women's basketball tournament was the setting for a pair of strong performances from an unlikely source for the SFA women's basketball team; two of its freshmen. Aiyana Johnson and Stephanie Visscher weren't intimidated in the slightest by the league's biggest stage, keeping SFA in the fight right up until the final buzzer in the semifinal loss to No. 6 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 58-56. Johnson's 18 points and seven rebounds were both team highs, while Visscher canned a pivotal late three-pointer and also added a steal in the waning seconds to give SFA a real chance at victory.

TOP SFA PERFORMERS
• Aiyana Johnson tallied a career-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and two assists.
• Stephanie Visscher chipped in 12 points on 5-10 shooting to go along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
SFA jumped out to an early 12-6 lead in the first quarter thanks to highly accurate shooting, connecting on five of their first attempts, including a pair of treys. SFA would lead 12-6 with 4:00 remaining in the quarter, but a 6-0 Islanders run over the final four minutes of play saw the two teams head to the second quarter deadlocked at 12-12.

SFA would stretch the lead out to five, 19-14, on a three-point play by Aiyana Johnson with 6:13 left to play in the second quarter and again a minute later on a bucket by sister Aaliyah Johnson. Still, the Islanders closed the gap with a pair of steal and layup combos, and took a 24-23 lead with 2:30 remaining in the half. After shooting 38 percent in the opening frame, the Islanders converted on 8-11 shots in the second quarter to take a 31-28 lead into the halftime break.

The Ladyjacks buckled down on the defensive end in the third quarter, holding the Islanders to just 2-10 shooting in the frame. SFA would reclaim the lead on a driving layup by Brianna Mitchell with 1:13 remaining in the quarter, but the Islanders would lead 45-44 after three quarters thanks to a 10-12 effort from the charity stripe in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the close nature of the game continued to shine through, as the teams traded buckets back and forth up to the timeout midway through the quarter. Aiyana Johnson scored on back-to-back possessions for the Ladyjacks leading up to the timeout, and her free throws at just under the four-minute mark would give SFA the narrow 52-51 lead. A last second desperation three by the Islanders beat the shot clock on the ensuing possession, and a pair of free throws completed a 5-0 run for the 'Ders to put them up 56-52.

Following a defensive stop, the Ladyjacks got a clutch three-pointer from Visscher to trim the lead to 56-55 with 1:11 left to play. Visscher then came up with a big steal to give SFA possession with 42 seconds left, and a free throw by Aiyana tied the game up at 56-56 with 28 ticks left. After drawing a foul on Chanell Hayes during a loose ball scramble, the Islanders had 5.5 second left to score off an inbounds play and did so, jumping ahead by the 58-56 final margin.

UP NEXT
The Ladyjacks will wait to hear their fate for entry into a postseason tournament. This upcoming Monday will be Selection Monday, during which the tournament fields for the NCAA, WNIT and WBI will be announced. A destination for the Ladyjacks will be announced on Monday evening as soon as news becomes available.

-SFA-