Central Arkansas Wins First Ever Tournament Game, 64-58, vs. Stephen F. Austin
By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org
KATY, Texas -Matt Daniel and the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears had no intention of making their first trip to the Southland Conference Basketball Tournament a one-and-done affair, not even after opening jitters nearly put their remarkable season in danger.
Surviving an early nine-point deficit and enduring a scoreless first half from Megan Herbert, Central Arkansas put it all together down the stretch as the third-seeded Sugar Bears outlasted seventh-seed Stephen F. Austin 64-58 on Tuesday afternoon, earning them a date against defending tourney champion Lamar on Thursday.
"We're excited to be here, and that showed in the first four minutes," said Daniel. "We were in a giving mood with the way we gave the ball away. With our team being so young, I had to make a decision on whether to be hard on them or let things work itself out."
Daniel chose the latter, as UCA (20-10) settled down after falling behind 15-6 with 10:49 in the first half.
Much of the comeback came from sophomore Desiree Rogers, who nearly quadrupled her season scoring average of 6.5 points per game by tallying a game-high 24 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Rogers scored 14 in the first half, but it was her 3-pointer with 11:51 remaining that gave the Sugar Bears a 46-42 lead.
SFA (12-18) tied the game at 50-all when Chelsea Foy scored her only basket of the afternoon with 9:02 left, but a pair of free throws from Micah Rice gave UCA the lead for good at the 7:18 mark.
The Sugar Bears scored just one field goal in the last 11:09, but aggressive forays to the basket resulted in a stream of trips to the free throw line; UCA hit 20 of 24 from the line in the second half, including 8 of their last 10 in the last 4:31.
"I felt we outplayed them in almost every aspect except free throws," said LadyJacks coach Brandon Schneider.
SFA, which has not won a tournament game since 2006, hit just 13 of 21 from the line.
The Ladyjacks did a stellar job in containing Herbert, the Southland Conference Player of the Year. The record-setting sophomore was the focus of double and triple-teams in the opening 20 minutes and did not get into the scoring column until 28 seconds into the second half.
Once she did get on track, Herbert made her presence felt, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds. While she went 3 of 10 from the field, Herbert went 7 of 10 from the line, including a stretch of 6 of 7 in the final minutes.
"We had others step up, and that's the versatility that we like," said Daniel.
Tammara Marion scored 21 points to lead the LadyJacks, who closed the gap to 61-58 on a jumper from Decreasha Goodner with 1:36 left; Goodner had a chance to tie the contest moments later, but her shot from the left corner bounced off the rim, which proved to be the last best chance for SFA.
"It's a load off everyone to get the jitters out of the way," said Daniel.
Central Arkansas, Quotes
Matt Daniel
Opening Statement: "First of all, we are just excited to be here and maybe overly excited which I think that showed in the first half as giving as we were giving the ball away to the other team. Our team being so young and accomplishing the things we have in the past few years, I had to make a decision to tell them to calm down or try and just enjoy it as much as possible. But things are so much bigger than basketball and that is the avenue I've taken with my players so I want them to be excited and I don't want to take away from that. I think it worked itself out. It wasn't ideal situation in the process but the end result was satisfying."
On first tournament win: "It's a load off our shoulders to get any win, and it was good for everyone to get the jitters out of the way. Now our focus shifts immediately to Lamar. A program that has set the bar high with their versatility and ability to score the ball, coach Tidwell has done a great job with that team."
On facing Lamar in the semifinals: "I think they're very dangerous all over the court. They can score in a number of different ways. I think we have that capability as well and I think if we're focused I anticipate a very good game."
Megan Herbert
On first half performance: "Every time I got the ball and even at the post or on the perimeter, they would double team me immediately and I wasn't able to take as many shots. But Destinee' had my back. She went out and got the points and the rebounds and we were able to pull out a win."
On facing Lamar in the semifinals: "We need to keep focus. Today when we came out we were all very jittery, but not so much nervous but excited about being here. If we just calm down and play together I don't think we'll have a problem."
Desiree Rogers
On scoring career-high 24 points: "When Megan's not scoring her usual 20-plus points a game, I was able to step up for us because going home early was not an option. I did everything I could to prevent that so we could keep playing for the championship."
Stephen F. Austin, Quotes
Brandon Schneider
Opening Statement: "I'm proud of our team's preparation and effort to get ready for today. I think it showed in a lot of statistical areas. We outplayed them in every phase of the game with the exception of free throw line where they outscored us by 16 points. I have to give UCA credit on being aggressive and getting themselves to the line and knocking down their free throws. But that was a March tournament game. Both teams played very hard, good half court defense and rebounded well. I felt we did a great job against Megan Herbert, the conference player of the year, to just 13 points. I'm really proud of our seniors and excited about the opportunity to come back and coach as SFA again next year."
On loss after early lead: "It's disappointing. Anytime your season ends, you hurt for your seniors. As a player that's very tough thing to go through mentally. I'm 39 years old and I miss it every day. It's disappointing that it was a game that came down to free throws and a block charge here and there, it's potentially a different outcome."
Tammara Marion
On the last few minutes of the second half: "I think we executed well, but we had a few defensive miscommunications at the end of the game. We kept putting them at the free throw line and they were able to keep knocking them down. I just wish we could have some of those opportunities back, but we can't."