Ladyjacks Clinch WAC Tournament Spot with Dominant Win

Thursday, February 22

Nacogdoches, TX

6:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

17-9,11-4WAC

Seattle University

3-22,3-13WAC

Seattle U

SFA

Ladyjacks Clinch WAC Tournament Spot with Dominant Win

2/22/2024 9:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Peter Trainor, Student Assistant for Strategic Communications

NACOGDOCHES, Texas. - The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team (17-9, 11-4) opened up their four-game home stand with a dominant performance over the Seattle University Redhawks (3-22, 3-13) as five different Ladyjacks recorded double-digit points to help the 'Jacks cruise past the Redhawks 87-62 at the Sawmill.

SFA came into tonight looking to punch their ticket to Vegas for the WAC tournament and secure their 10th home win of the season. After the two teams exchanged a pair of baskets in the first two minutes, SFA took control of the remainder of the opening quarter as they would go on a 13-2 scoring run over the next three minutes thanks to points from Kyla Deck, Kurstyn Harden, Destini Lombard, and a three-pointer from Mele Finau to put SFA ahead 17-6 midway through the first. The two schools would exchange baskets over the remainder of the first as seven Seattle points were immediately cancelled out by seven SFA points that saw Avery VanSickle drain a pair of free-throws, Kyla Deck drain the second triple of the quarter for SFA, and Mele Finau drive into the paint for her second bucket of the quarter. Avery VanSickle would close out scoring for the first quarter as she would knock down a jumper with less than 30 seconds left to give the Ladyjacks a 26-13 lead after one.

Tyler McCliment-Call would open up scoring in the second quarter for both sides as Destini Lombard recorded a steal on defense and fed McCliment-Call for a fastbreak layup to extend SFA's lead to 28-13. However, the Redhawks would not be outdone for much longer as they found their legs quickly into the second as they went on a 14-2 scoring run that suddenly closed the SFA gap down to three points at 30-27. However, the 'Jacks would score the next three points courtesy of Trinity Moore and Destini Lombard to move their lead back to six at 33-27. Following three consecutive points for Seattle, the Ladyjacks would end the second on a 6-2 scoring run that saw Trinity Moore, Tyler McCliment-Call, and Destini Lombard all score points for SFA and send them into the locker rooms with a 39-32 lead.

Makayla Moore opened up scoring for the second half as she drew an and-one play converting the free-throw to bring Seattle to within four points at 39-35. Kurstyn Harden would begin to impose her will on the Seattle defense early in the second half, however, as she would rattle off five straight points for SFA thanks to going 3/3 from the foul line to keep the SFA lead at seven at 44-37. Following a Peyton Howard basket for Seattle, SFA would respond with a 7-0 scoring run thanks to a pair of baskets from Mele Finau to regain the double-digit lead for SFA at 51-39. Following a mini 5-0 scoring run for Seattle, the two schools exchanged baskets fairly evenly with SFA outscoring the Redhawks 7-4 to end the third thanks to a triple from Mele Finau, and baskets from Avery VanSickle and Destini Lombard to keep SFA with a comfortable double-digit lead at 58-48 heading into the final quarter of play.

Avery VanSickle caught fire to begin the fourth as following a Mele Finau jumper to open up the fourth, VanSickle could not miss from downtown as she knocked down three consecutive triples for SFA to expand SFA's lead to 19 at 69-50 three minutes into the fourth. Kurstyn Harden would rattle off four consecutive points to offset a pair of Redhawk baskets and keep SFA's lead at 19 with the Ladyjacks leading 75-56 midway through the fourth. The remainder of the fourth saw both teams exchange baskets almost evenly, with SFA squashing any hope of a Seattle comeback with an 8-0 scoring run with 90 seconds left that saw VanSickle cap off her dominant quarter with her fourth triple and Atalia Ballesteros draining a triple of her own to move the SFA lead to a commanding 28 points at 87-59. Lisa Michaelsen converted an and-one for Seattle to end the scoring for the night but SFA still walked away with a dominating 87-62 home win.

Five different Ladyjacks finished in double figures for points tonight, and were led by Avery VanSickle whose unbelievable fourth quarter that saw her drain four triples, which was most by any player in the game, left her with a new career-high 18 points while she tied for the team lead in rebounds by pulling down six. Kurstyn Harden continues to be an unstoppable force in the paint and from the free-throw line as she finished second on the team with 16 points, making 8-10 free-throws, blocking two shots, and recording six rebounds. Mele Finau recorded her first double-digit performance of the season as she dropped 14 points while dishing out two assists and pulling down five rebounds. Destini Lombard stuffed the stat sheet for SFA tonight as she recorded 11 points, six rebounds, dished out a team-high seven assists, and recorded her third game this season with five steals in a game. Tyler McCliment-Call rounded out the top five scorers for the Ladyjacks as she finished the evening with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Kyla Deck was just as dominant defensively as Lombard as she recorded four steals of her own while adding nine points, four assists, and two rebounds to her evening.

The Ladyjacks experienced another strong day of shooting from the field as they shot just under 50% from the field for the game finishing with a 49.2% field goal percentage that saw them make eight three-pointers, while experiencing another highly successful day from the foul line as they drained 17 free-throws and shot 85% from the charity stripe for the game. The Ladyjacks converted 12 steals and four blocks into 25 points off turnovers, and converted 16 offensive rebounds into 24 second chance points. Meanwhile, Kurstyn Harden helped lead another dominant game down low for SFA as they recorded 38 points in the paint, while Avery VanSickle helped lead a 27-bench point effort for SFA.

The Ladyjacks will look to carry over their momentum from this win into their next home game when they get set to host Utah Valley this Saturday, February 24th at the Sawmill with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CST.