Saturday, January 13
Nacogdoches, TX
2:00 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Southern Utah University
Ladyjacks Get Set to Host Thunderbirds
1/12/2024 2:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Stephen F. Austin vs. Southern Utah
Date: Saturday, January 13th
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stadium: William R. Johnson Coliseum
Series: Southern Utah Leads 1-0
NACOGDOCHES, Texas. - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Basketball Team (10-6, 4-1) concludes their home stand when they get set to battle against their second consecutive Utah opponent in the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (4-9, 2-2) on Saturday afternoon.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
Stephen F. Austin will look to continue both their strong conference play and home play as they wrap up a short two-game home stint against the Thunderbirds. On the season, SFA sports a solid 4-1 conference record, while proving to be a tough team to beat at the Sawmill as they hold a 7-2 home record on the season. In their most recent 76-67 home win over the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Thursday evening, the 'Jacks led the Trailblazers in rebounds (45-44), assists (13-6), blocks (6-1), points in the paint (32-22), fast break points (9-3), bench points (15-0), field goal percentage (45.2-29.6), and free-throw percentage (80.0-71.4).
Kurstyn Harden continued her strong play in conference games as she led the team in points for a second consecutive game finishing the contest with 15 points, while adding on three rebounds, three assists, and one block. Zoe Nelson continues to make solid contributions for the Ladyjacks as she recorded her third double-double of the season thanks to a 13-point, 13-rebound performance. Nelson's third double-double of the season has her tied with teammate Kurstyn Harden and Southern Utah freshman Ava Uhrich for third most in the WAC. Tyler McCliment-Call continues to be an unstoppable force for SFA as she recorded her sixth consecutive game with double-digit points as she put up 13 points thanks to three three-pointers, while adding six rebounds, two assists, and a steal against the Trailblazers. Kyla Deck had another solid performance as she showed off her range and rounded out the top four scorers with 11 points, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal, while tying McCliment-Call for the team lead in triples with three. Destini Lombard continues to do a little bit of everything for SFA as she finished with nine points, pulled down eight rebounds, and dished out three assists in the win. Meanwhile, Trinity Moore and Lydia Cooke-Wiggins formed an efficient duo in their limited playing time as they combined for 15 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one block on Thursday evening.
The Ladyjack defense continued to show how dangerous it can be as they had a season-high six blocks as a team against the Trailblazers while also throwing in a pair of steals for good measure. The 'Jacks also showcased their solid shooting as a team to back a strong defensive effort as they posted their fifth game this season with a free-throw percentage of at least 80%, while posting their fourth highest field goal percentage of the season at 45.2% from the field, and have made 18 three-pointers in their last two games.
Kyla Deck and Destini Lombard have been the backbone for solid defensive play from SFA all season as Lombard ranks tied for 37th in the nation with 39 steals on the season, for an average of 2.4 steals/game. Meanwhile, Deck despite missing three games this season still ranks tied for 41st in the nation with 38 steals on the year, while ranking 20th in the nation in steals per game with a solid 2.92 steals/game. As a team, SFA ranks 31st in the nation as they average 10.9 steals/game on the season. SFA offers the highest scoring offense in the WAC as they rank first in total points, while ranking second in rebounds, second in assists, and second in free-throw percentage. Meanwhile, the defense continues to shine for SFA as they rank second in the WAC in steals, while offering the third highest scoring, rebound, and turnover margin for the WAC, and sport the second highest assist/turnover ratio in the conference.
Thunderbirds at a Glance:
The defending WAC champions the Southern Utah Thunderbirds open up a three-game road trip starting when they visit the Pineywoods and the Sawmill. This road trip will take the Thunderbirds to three different states in the span of a week as they will head back to Utah for a match against state rival Utah Tech following the conclusion of the SFA game, before traveling to California to do battle with CBU to finish the trip. Southern Utah will look to carry over their confidence from their last game as they will come in on the heels of a 71-58 win over fellow Utah opponent Utah Valley last Saturday. In the win over Utah Valley, the Thunderbirds led the Wolverines rebounds (41-29), assists (14-13), blocks (7-2), points in the paint (34-22), points off turnovers (17-15), second chance points (11-7), and fast break points (5-2), while shooting an astounding 49.1% as a team from the field, which marked their second highest field goal percentage in a game this season.
The Thunderbirds have a three-headed monster on offense that is spearheaded by Megan Smith who leads the team averaging a solid 16.2 points/game while averaging the second most rebounds of any Thunderbird player with a 6.3 rebounds/game average. Smith holds the lead in the WAC for most field goals made in a single game this season when she hit 15 shots against Alaska Fairbanks in November. Daylani Ballena ranks second on the team with her 14.7 points/game as she will stuff the stat sheet every game for the Thunderbirds as she leads the team in assists with 49, is tied for the team lead in steals with 14 and is second on the team in three-pointers with 13. Ava Uhrich a freshman finishes off the top three for Southern Utah as she averages 12.6 points/game, while pulling down a team-leading 94 rebounds for a team-high 7.2 rebounds/game, while showcasing her defensive abilities as she ranks second on the team in blocks with 11 as well as second on the team in steals with 13. Samantha Johnston is the deep threat for the Thunderbirds as she leads the team with 22 triples on the season, while consistently setting up scoring opportunities for Southern Utah as she ranks second on the team in assists with 40 and is tied with Ballena for the team lead in steals with 14.
Series: This will be only the second meeting between these schools as Southern Utah has won the only previous match-up against these two teams when they defended their home court with a 67-59 win over the Ladyjacks last season.
Date: Saturday, January 13th
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stadium: William R. Johnson Coliseum
Series: Southern Utah Leads 1-0
NACOGDOCHES, Texas. - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Basketball Team (10-6, 4-1) concludes their home stand when they get set to battle against their second consecutive Utah opponent in the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (4-9, 2-2) on Saturday afternoon.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
Stephen F. Austin will look to continue both their strong conference play and home play as they wrap up a short two-game home stint against the Thunderbirds. On the season, SFA sports a solid 4-1 conference record, while proving to be a tough team to beat at the Sawmill as they hold a 7-2 home record on the season. In their most recent 76-67 home win over the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Thursday evening, the 'Jacks led the Trailblazers in rebounds (45-44), assists (13-6), blocks (6-1), points in the paint (32-22), fast break points (9-3), bench points (15-0), field goal percentage (45.2-29.6), and free-throw percentage (80.0-71.4).
Kurstyn Harden continued her strong play in conference games as she led the team in points for a second consecutive game finishing the contest with 15 points, while adding on three rebounds, three assists, and one block. Zoe Nelson continues to make solid contributions for the Ladyjacks as she recorded her third double-double of the season thanks to a 13-point, 13-rebound performance. Nelson's third double-double of the season has her tied with teammate Kurstyn Harden and Southern Utah freshman Ava Uhrich for third most in the WAC. Tyler McCliment-Call continues to be an unstoppable force for SFA as she recorded her sixth consecutive game with double-digit points as she put up 13 points thanks to three three-pointers, while adding six rebounds, two assists, and a steal against the Trailblazers. Kyla Deck had another solid performance as she showed off her range and rounded out the top four scorers with 11 points, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal, while tying McCliment-Call for the team lead in triples with three. Destini Lombard continues to do a little bit of everything for SFA as she finished with nine points, pulled down eight rebounds, and dished out three assists in the win. Meanwhile, Trinity Moore and Lydia Cooke-Wiggins formed an efficient duo in their limited playing time as they combined for 15 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one block on Thursday evening.
The Ladyjack defense continued to show how dangerous it can be as they had a season-high six blocks as a team against the Trailblazers while also throwing in a pair of steals for good measure. The 'Jacks also showcased their solid shooting as a team to back a strong defensive effort as they posted their fifth game this season with a free-throw percentage of at least 80%, while posting their fourth highest field goal percentage of the season at 45.2% from the field, and have made 18 three-pointers in their last two games.
Kyla Deck and Destini Lombard have been the backbone for solid defensive play from SFA all season as Lombard ranks tied for 37th in the nation with 39 steals on the season, for an average of 2.4 steals/game. Meanwhile, Deck despite missing three games this season still ranks tied for 41st in the nation with 38 steals on the year, while ranking 20th in the nation in steals per game with a solid 2.92 steals/game. As a team, SFA ranks 31st in the nation as they average 10.9 steals/game on the season. SFA offers the highest scoring offense in the WAC as they rank first in total points, while ranking second in rebounds, second in assists, and second in free-throw percentage. Meanwhile, the defense continues to shine for SFA as they rank second in the WAC in steals, while offering the third highest scoring, rebound, and turnover margin for the WAC, and sport the second highest assist/turnover ratio in the conference.
Thunderbirds at a Glance:
The defending WAC champions the Southern Utah Thunderbirds open up a three-game road trip starting when they visit the Pineywoods and the Sawmill. This road trip will take the Thunderbirds to three different states in the span of a week as they will head back to Utah for a match against state rival Utah Tech following the conclusion of the SFA game, before traveling to California to do battle with CBU to finish the trip. Southern Utah will look to carry over their confidence from their last game as they will come in on the heels of a 71-58 win over fellow Utah opponent Utah Valley last Saturday. In the win over Utah Valley, the Thunderbirds led the Wolverines rebounds (41-29), assists (14-13), blocks (7-2), points in the paint (34-22), points off turnovers (17-15), second chance points (11-7), and fast break points (5-2), while shooting an astounding 49.1% as a team from the field, which marked their second highest field goal percentage in a game this season.
The Thunderbirds have a three-headed monster on offense that is spearheaded by Megan Smith who leads the team averaging a solid 16.2 points/game while averaging the second most rebounds of any Thunderbird player with a 6.3 rebounds/game average. Smith holds the lead in the WAC for most field goals made in a single game this season when she hit 15 shots against Alaska Fairbanks in November. Daylani Ballena ranks second on the team with her 14.7 points/game as she will stuff the stat sheet every game for the Thunderbirds as she leads the team in assists with 49, is tied for the team lead in steals with 14 and is second on the team in three-pointers with 13. Ava Uhrich a freshman finishes off the top three for Southern Utah as she averages 12.6 points/game, while pulling down a team-leading 94 rebounds for a team-high 7.2 rebounds/game, while showcasing her defensive abilities as she ranks second on the team in blocks with 11 as well as second on the team in steals with 13. Samantha Johnston is the deep threat for the Thunderbirds as she leads the team with 22 triples on the season, while consistently setting up scoring opportunities for Southern Utah as she ranks second on the team in assists with 40 and is tied with Ballena for the team lead in steals with 14.
Series: This will be only the second meeting between these schools as Southern Utah has won the only previous match-up against these two teams when they defended their home court with a 67-59 win over the Ladyjacks last season.
Players Mentioned
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