Saturday, March 9
St. George, UT
3:00 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
at
Utah Tech
Ladyjacks Close Out Regular Season Against Trailblazers
3/8/2024 2:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Stephen F. Austin vs. Utah Tech University
Date: Saturday, March 9th
Time: 3:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stadium: Burns Arena
Series: SFA Leads 4-0
ST. GEORGE, Utah. - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Basketball Team (20-10, 14-5) stays local in Utah for their final match of the regular season as they get set for a tune-up match for Las Vegas against the Utah Tech Trailblazers (17-13, 11-8) in both times final game of the season.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks will be looking to end their season on a three-game winning streak as they get set for next week when they travel to Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament. The Ladyjacks will be looking to carry over the confidence and energy from the win they had against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds as SFA overcame a 30-10 deficit after the first quarter and 46-29 halftime deficit to comeback and spoil the Thunderbirds hope of a late season upset of SFA. The win over Southern Utah marked the 20th win for Head Coach Leonard Bishop in his first year overseeing the Ladyjacks program, and marked the eighth consecutive season SFA has finished with at least 20 wins in a season.
Reigning WAC Player of the Week Kurstyn Harden is making sure to leave her mark on the Ladyjacks basketball program in her senior year as she has now posted over 20 points in four straight contests and has made the WAC Player of the Year discussion much more difficult to decide. Harden has led the team in points in all four games and is backing up her WAC Player of the Week nomination quite admirably. In her last four games, Harden has pulled down at least seven rebounds in all four games, while recording at least three assists, and one block in all four games in addition to surpassing the 20-point threshold. While Harden continues to dominate the paint for SFA, Destini Lombard has been just as deadly from her outside shooting as she has scored double-digit points in three straight games making at least two three-pointers in all three games, while pulling down no fewer than seven rebounds, while showcasing her versatility by recording at least three steals in her last three contests. Thus, it should not come as a huge surprise than Harden and Lombard once again finished one and two in scoring for the game against Southern Utah as Harden posted 23 points, and Lombard scoring 17 of her own.
The Ladyjacks shot over 40% from the field for the sixth straight contest as they finished 43.3% from the floor tonight, making 29 field goals while draining five shots from beyond the arc. Another strong day from the foul line played a key role in helping SFA close out the win tonight as they made 18 free-throws and shot just under 82% from the charity stripe, marking the fourth time in their last six games they've gone over 80% from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, another strong day of rebounding for SFA saw them pull down 37 rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds, marking the fourth time in their last five games they've pulled down double-digit offensive boards. Despite the fact the Thunderbirds held the lead for over 81% of the game, the Ladyjacks ended up holding the lead when it mattered most as they held the lead over the final five minutes of the game. Kurstyn Harden helped propel another dominating game in the paint for SFA as they scored 42 points in the paint, while turning seven blocks and six steals into 15 points off turnovers.
Destini Lombard and Kyla Deck continue to power the SFA defense as Lombard ranks 19th in the nation in steals with 78, while Deck ranks 46th with her 68 steals this season. Not shockingly, Deck and Lombard rank inside the top-30 in the nation in steals per game this season. Deck ranks 21st averaging a healthy 2.72 steals/game, while Lombard ranks closely behind at 26th in the nation averaging a solid 2.60 steals/game. Lombard ranks 43rd in the nation in assist/turnover ratio sporting a 2.19 ratio this season, while Kurstyn Harden's dominance in the paint has seen her rise to 27th in the nation in field goal percentage with a 56.07% from the field this season.
Trailblazers at a Glance:
The Utah Tech Trailblazers come into their home match on Saturday coming off a 81-55 win over the UTRGV Vaqueros that helped them snap a two-game losing skid. The win over the Vaqueros, improved both their conference and home records improved to 11-8 and 10-5 this season respectively, while the Trailblazers overall record moved to 17-13 this season.
Four different Trailblazers finished in double figures in Thursday night's game led my Maggie McCord who led the team in both points (18), and rebounds (eight). Maddie Warren followed closely behind McCord as she posted 17 points while recording seven rebounds, four assists, and leading the team with five steals defensively. Calyn Dallas and Breaunna Gillen formed a dynamic duo for Utah Tech as they combined for 21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals as Gillen dished out a game-high nine assists against the Vaqueros.
The Utah Tech offense has no shortage of scorers as four players currently average double-digit points this season. Breaunna Gillen leads the charge with her 17.0 points/game average while pulling down the most rebounds on the team (190) and averaging 7.0 rebounds/game. Maddie Warren follows just behind Gillen as she averages 16.4 points/game, while being a threat from beyond the arc with 75 three-pointers this season, while leading the team in steals with 43. Maggie McCord rounds out the top scorers for the Trailblazers as she does a little bit of everything for Utah Tech as she averages 12.0 points/game, has made 68 three-pointers, pulled down 175 rebounds, and recorded 20 steals this season.
Series: Saturday's season finale for both schools features the fifth time these two programs have squared off with each other as SFA is a perfect 4-0 against the Trailblazers so far. The Ladyjacks have won all four games by at least nine points, scoring over 70 in all four games, while holding Utah Tech to less than 67 in all four wins. In their first meeting this season, the 'Jacks defeated the Trailblazers 76-67 at the Sawmill, with SFA looking to finish off the season sweep of Utah Tech.
Date: Saturday, March 9th
Time: 3:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stadium: Burns Arena
Series: SFA Leads 4-0
ST. GEORGE, Utah. - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Basketball Team (20-10, 14-5) stays local in Utah for their final match of the regular season as they get set for a tune-up match for Las Vegas against the Utah Tech Trailblazers (17-13, 11-8) in both times final game of the season.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks will be looking to end their season on a three-game winning streak as they get set for next week when they travel to Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament. The Ladyjacks will be looking to carry over the confidence and energy from the win they had against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds as SFA overcame a 30-10 deficit after the first quarter and 46-29 halftime deficit to comeback and spoil the Thunderbirds hope of a late season upset of SFA. The win over Southern Utah marked the 20th win for Head Coach Leonard Bishop in his first year overseeing the Ladyjacks program, and marked the eighth consecutive season SFA has finished with at least 20 wins in a season.
Reigning WAC Player of the Week Kurstyn Harden is making sure to leave her mark on the Ladyjacks basketball program in her senior year as she has now posted over 20 points in four straight contests and has made the WAC Player of the Year discussion much more difficult to decide. Harden has led the team in points in all four games and is backing up her WAC Player of the Week nomination quite admirably. In her last four games, Harden has pulled down at least seven rebounds in all four games, while recording at least three assists, and one block in all four games in addition to surpassing the 20-point threshold. While Harden continues to dominate the paint for SFA, Destini Lombard has been just as deadly from her outside shooting as she has scored double-digit points in three straight games making at least two three-pointers in all three games, while pulling down no fewer than seven rebounds, while showcasing her versatility by recording at least three steals in her last three contests. Thus, it should not come as a huge surprise than Harden and Lombard once again finished one and two in scoring for the game against Southern Utah as Harden posted 23 points, and Lombard scoring 17 of her own.
The Ladyjacks shot over 40% from the field for the sixth straight contest as they finished 43.3% from the floor tonight, making 29 field goals while draining five shots from beyond the arc. Another strong day from the foul line played a key role in helping SFA close out the win tonight as they made 18 free-throws and shot just under 82% from the charity stripe, marking the fourth time in their last six games they've gone over 80% from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, another strong day of rebounding for SFA saw them pull down 37 rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds, marking the fourth time in their last five games they've pulled down double-digit offensive boards. Despite the fact the Thunderbirds held the lead for over 81% of the game, the Ladyjacks ended up holding the lead when it mattered most as they held the lead over the final five minutes of the game. Kurstyn Harden helped propel another dominating game in the paint for SFA as they scored 42 points in the paint, while turning seven blocks and six steals into 15 points off turnovers.
Destini Lombard and Kyla Deck continue to power the SFA defense as Lombard ranks 19th in the nation in steals with 78, while Deck ranks 46th with her 68 steals this season. Not shockingly, Deck and Lombard rank inside the top-30 in the nation in steals per game this season. Deck ranks 21st averaging a healthy 2.72 steals/game, while Lombard ranks closely behind at 26th in the nation averaging a solid 2.60 steals/game. Lombard ranks 43rd in the nation in assist/turnover ratio sporting a 2.19 ratio this season, while Kurstyn Harden's dominance in the paint has seen her rise to 27th in the nation in field goal percentage with a 56.07% from the field this season.
Trailblazers at a Glance:
The Utah Tech Trailblazers come into their home match on Saturday coming off a 81-55 win over the UTRGV Vaqueros that helped them snap a two-game losing skid. The win over the Vaqueros, improved both their conference and home records improved to 11-8 and 10-5 this season respectively, while the Trailblazers overall record moved to 17-13 this season.
Four different Trailblazers finished in double figures in Thursday night's game led my Maggie McCord who led the team in both points (18), and rebounds (eight). Maddie Warren followed closely behind McCord as she posted 17 points while recording seven rebounds, four assists, and leading the team with five steals defensively. Calyn Dallas and Breaunna Gillen formed a dynamic duo for Utah Tech as they combined for 21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals as Gillen dished out a game-high nine assists against the Vaqueros.
The Utah Tech offense has no shortage of scorers as four players currently average double-digit points this season. Breaunna Gillen leads the charge with her 17.0 points/game average while pulling down the most rebounds on the team (190) and averaging 7.0 rebounds/game. Maddie Warren follows just behind Gillen as she averages 16.4 points/game, while being a threat from beyond the arc with 75 three-pointers this season, while leading the team in steals with 43. Maggie McCord rounds out the top scorers for the Trailblazers as she does a little bit of everything for Utah Tech as she averages 12.0 points/game, has made 68 three-pointers, pulled down 175 rebounds, and recorded 20 steals this season.
Series: Saturday's season finale for both schools features the fifth time these two programs have squared off with each other as SFA is a perfect 4-0 against the Trailblazers so far. The Ladyjacks have won all four games by at least nine points, scoring over 70 in all four games, while holding Utah Tech to less than 67 in all four wins. In their first meeting this season, the 'Jacks defeated the Trailblazers 76-67 at the Sawmill, with SFA looking to finish off the season sweep of Utah Tech.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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