Thursday, March 14
Las Vegas, NV
4:30 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Tarleton State University
Ladyjacks Quest for WAC Championship Begins Against Texans
3/13/2024 6:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Stephen F. Austin vs. Tarleton State University
Date: Thursday, March 14th
Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stadium: Orleans Arena
Series: SFA Leads 4-0
LAS VEGAS, NV. - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Basketball Team (20-11, 14-6) gets set for their playoff run when they square off against the Tarleton State Texans (11-19, 7-13) in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals that is being held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks ended their 2023-2024 season experiencing no shortage of success as they recorded their eighth straight season with at least 20 wins in Head Coach Leonard Bishop's first season leading the Ladyjacks while securing the no. 3 seed in this years WAC Tournament. The 'Jacks won two of their final three games this season, but fell 69-61 in their most recent road match against the Utah Tech Trailblazers in the season finale for both schools.
The Ladyjacks will enter Las Vegas carrying plenty of hardware and accolades with them as three Ladyjacks earned WAC Postseason Awards on Monday. Destini Lombard's fantastic defensive season did not go unnoticed by the conference as she was named WAC Defensive Player of the Year in a season that saw her record a team-high 80 steals and record 17 blocks while pulling down 126 rebounds. Kyla Deck received some well-deserved recognition on the defensive end as well as a season which saw her record 69 steals and average 2.65 steals/game earned her a spot on the WAC All-Defensive Team where both she and Lombard were named to. Kurstyn Harden received plenty of recognition of her own from an offensive standpoint as shortly after being named WAC Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and the second consecutive week, Harden was named to the All-WAC First Team as she finished the season scoring over 20 points in the Ladyjacks final five games, leading the team with 534 points, 136 rebounds, recording eight double-doubles which was tied for third most in the WAC this season, and finishing with 13 games this season with at least 20 points, good for second most in the WAC.
As a team this season, the Ladyjacks fired on all cylinders consistently the entire season. SFA scored 2,362 points this season most of any team in the WAC, while ranking as the second highest scoring offense in the WAC averaging a healthy 76.19 points/game. Stephen F. Austin was efficient shooting from the floor as they shot the third highest field goal percentage this season at 42.5% from the field, while draining 461 free-throws as a team and leading the WAC in free-throw percentage with a 75.1% mark from the foul line. SFA crashed the boards all season long resulting in 1,250 rebounds the most of any team in the WAC, while averaging 12.55 offensive rebounds and 27.77 defensive rebounds/game. The Ladyjacks played selfless basketball all season as they dished out the second most assists in the WAC with 515 this season averaging 16.61 assists/game. As dominating as the Ladyjack offense was, their defense matched the production of the offense as they recorded 308 steals as a team, while blocking 114 shots on the season.
Destini Lombard and Kyla Deck continue to be the backbones of the SFA defense as Lombard ranks 20th in the nation in steals with 80, while Deck ranks 51st in the nation with 69 steals. Deck averages 2.65 steals/game, good for 22nd in the nation while Lombard follows closely behind at 26th in the country averaging 2.58 steals/game. Offensively, Lombard ranks 42nd in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.18 ratio, while Kurstyn Harden ranks sixth in the nation with 171 free-throws made, 28th in field goal percentage at 56.2%, and 62nd in the nation with her 534 points.
Texans at a Glance:
The Tarleton State Texans come into Thursday's match fresh off a commanding 54-41 win over the Abilene Christian Wildcats, and will carry no shortage of confidence as they have won four of their last five games. In their win over Abilene Christian, the Texans led the Wildcats in rebounds (42-30), assists (11-9), blocks (6-2), points in the paint (28-12), second chance points (10-7), and fast break points (15-2).
Jakoriah Long led the scoring for the Texans against the Wildcats finishing with 20 points and four rebounds, while Miannah Little formed a dynamic scoring duo with Little finishing with 13 points, draining a pair of three-pointers, and dishing out a team-high six assists. Faith Acker was a rebound machine against the Wildcats as she pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds in the win and blocked four shots, while she and Elise Turrubiates combined for 16 points, 16 rebounds, five blocks, and three steals.
Jakoriah Long leads the Texans offense as she averages 11.4 points/game, while being the deep threat for Tarleton as she has drained 31 triples on the season. Faith Acker and Elise Turrubiates have formed a dominating rebounding duo as they have combined for 308 rebounds on the season, while Acker leads the team in blocks with 28 and Turrubiates leads the team in steals with 27. The Texans offense features no shortage of three-point shooters as four different Texans have made over 20 triples this season in Miannah Little, Tyler Jackson, Teresa Da Silva, and Andjela Bigovic.
Series: Thursday's matchup will feature the fifth time these two programs have squared off with each other, and the first time they have met in the WAC Playoffs. SFA has won the previous four meetings between the two schools and swept the regular season series over the Texans winning both games by double-digit points. In their most recent win, the Ladyjacks defeated the Texans 73-62 on the Texans home court.
Date: Thursday, March 14th
Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stadium: Orleans Arena
Series: SFA Leads 4-0
LAS VEGAS, NV. - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Basketball Team (20-11, 14-6) gets set for their playoff run when they square off against the Tarleton State Texans (11-19, 7-13) in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals that is being held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks ended their 2023-2024 season experiencing no shortage of success as they recorded their eighth straight season with at least 20 wins in Head Coach Leonard Bishop's first season leading the Ladyjacks while securing the no. 3 seed in this years WAC Tournament. The 'Jacks won two of their final three games this season, but fell 69-61 in their most recent road match against the Utah Tech Trailblazers in the season finale for both schools.
The Ladyjacks will enter Las Vegas carrying plenty of hardware and accolades with them as three Ladyjacks earned WAC Postseason Awards on Monday. Destini Lombard's fantastic defensive season did not go unnoticed by the conference as she was named WAC Defensive Player of the Year in a season that saw her record a team-high 80 steals and record 17 blocks while pulling down 126 rebounds. Kyla Deck received some well-deserved recognition on the defensive end as well as a season which saw her record 69 steals and average 2.65 steals/game earned her a spot on the WAC All-Defensive Team where both she and Lombard were named to. Kurstyn Harden received plenty of recognition of her own from an offensive standpoint as shortly after being named WAC Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and the second consecutive week, Harden was named to the All-WAC First Team as she finished the season scoring over 20 points in the Ladyjacks final five games, leading the team with 534 points, 136 rebounds, recording eight double-doubles which was tied for third most in the WAC this season, and finishing with 13 games this season with at least 20 points, good for second most in the WAC.
As a team this season, the Ladyjacks fired on all cylinders consistently the entire season. SFA scored 2,362 points this season most of any team in the WAC, while ranking as the second highest scoring offense in the WAC averaging a healthy 76.19 points/game. Stephen F. Austin was efficient shooting from the floor as they shot the third highest field goal percentage this season at 42.5% from the field, while draining 461 free-throws as a team and leading the WAC in free-throw percentage with a 75.1% mark from the foul line. SFA crashed the boards all season long resulting in 1,250 rebounds the most of any team in the WAC, while averaging 12.55 offensive rebounds and 27.77 defensive rebounds/game. The Ladyjacks played selfless basketball all season as they dished out the second most assists in the WAC with 515 this season averaging 16.61 assists/game. As dominating as the Ladyjack offense was, their defense matched the production of the offense as they recorded 308 steals as a team, while blocking 114 shots on the season.
Destini Lombard and Kyla Deck continue to be the backbones of the SFA defense as Lombard ranks 20th in the nation in steals with 80, while Deck ranks 51st in the nation with 69 steals. Deck averages 2.65 steals/game, good for 22nd in the nation while Lombard follows closely behind at 26th in the country averaging 2.58 steals/game. Offensively, Lombard ranks 42nd in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.18 ratio, while Kurstyn Harden ranks sixth in the nation with 171 free-throws made, 28th in field goal percentage at 56.2%, and 62nd in the nation with her 534 points.
Texans at a Glance:
The Tarleton State Texans come into Thursday's match fresh off a commanding 54-41 win over the Abilene Christian Wildcats, and will carry no shortage of confidence as they have won four of their last five games. In their win over Abilene Christian, the Texans led the Wildcats in rebounds (42-30), assists (11-9), blocks (6-2), points in the paint (28-12), second chance points (10-7), and fast break points (15-2).
Jakoriah Long led the scoring for the Texans against the Wildcats finishing with 20 points and four rebounds, while Miannah Little formed a dynamic scoring duo with Little finishing with 13 points, draining a pair of three-pointers, and dishing out a team-high six assists. Faith Acker was a rebound machine against the Wildcats as she pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds in the win and blocked four shots, while she and Elise Turrubiates combined for 16 points, 16 rebounds, five blocks, and three steals.
Jakoriah Long leads the Texans offense as she averages 11.4 points/game, while being the deep threat for Tarleton as she has drained 31 triples on the season. Faith Acker and Elise Turrubiates have formed a dominating rebounding duo as they have combined for 308 rebounds on the season, while Acker leads the team in blocks with 28 and Turrubiates leads the team in steals with 27. The Texans offense features no shortage of three-point shooters as four different Texans have made over 20 triples this season in Miannah Little, Tyler Jackson, Teresa Da Silva, and Andjela Bigovic.
Series: Thursday's matchup will feature the fifth time these two programs have squared off with each other, and the first time they have met in the WAC Playoffs. SFA has won the previous four meetings between the two schools and swept the regular season series over the Texans winning both games by double-digit points. In their most recent win, the Ladyjacks defeated the Texans 73-62 on the Texans home court.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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