Ladyjacks Punch a Ticket to the Big Dance

Sunday, March 14

Katy, TX

1:00 PM

Stephen F. Austin

24-2,14-0Southland

Sam Houston

15-8,9-5Southland

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Sam Houston	13	9	10	13	45
SFA	17	9	11	19	56

Ladyjacks Punch a Ticket to the Big Dance

3/14/2021 5:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Chelsea Groves | SFA Athletics

KATY, Texas -- The No. 1 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks earned another piece of hardware after defeating No. 3 Sam Houston (56-45) for the 2020-21 Southland Conference Championship Sunday afternoon. This is the first time the Ladyjack program has won the tournament since 2006, along with making a NCAA Tournament appearance.

How It Happened
SFA created a 17-13 lead after the first quarter, with MVP of the tournament Aiyana Johnson scoring six of the first eight points for the 'Jacks. In the span of 3:01-1:27 on the clock, a trey plus a layup from Marissa Banfield gave the Ladyjacks five quick points, in addition to a bucket from Johnson boosted a 7-0 run.

The Ladyjacks held a 26-22 edge heading into the locker room, where both squads scored nine points in the second quarter to keep the contest tight. A pair of Zya Nugent free-throws gave SFA an eight-point lead (26-18) with just over three minutes to play in the first half, but Madelyn Batista converted on two layups with less than a minute to play to make it a four-point game.

In the third quarter, back-to-back triples from Faith Cook knotted the game at 28-28, with the Bearkats going ahead 30-28 at 7:46 for its first lead since 11-10 in the first quarter. Nugent responded with a huge three of her own at the 4:42 mark to put her team back up 33-30, and SFA held onto a 37-32 advantage before the final quarter.

Avery Brittingham continued the Ladyjack momentum scoring a basket with just five seconds into the fourth quarter, and Nugent sliced into the lane for another two for SFA's first double-digit lead (45-34). The Bearkats were able to climb back to get within four at 2:22 off a Leggett jumper, but the Ladyjack put the game away with a combination of Brittingham and Nugent offense, and knocking down free throws as time expired.

Leaders
MVP Aiyana Johnson led all scorers with 16 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals. All-Tournament Teamer Zya Nugent added 13, and Avery Brittingham chipped in eight.

Up Next
The Ladyjacks will await its next opponent in tomorrow night's NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 6:00 p.m.