Stephen F. Austin Fends Off Lamar, 73-64
By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org
KATY, Texas
-- In an up-and-down affair between two evenly matched teams, it stood to
figure someone had to blink in the closing minutes.
Stephen F.
Austin held its ground, using an 11-0 run in the final 3:56 to fend off Lamar
73-64 and advance to Thursday's semifinal, marking the first time since 2007
the Ladyjacks moved past the opening round.
"It felt real
good," said SFA senior guard Tammara Marion of getting past the first round hurdle.
"It's speechless. We haven't won since I've been here. (We'll) celebrate this
win, but we've got more games to go.
The
fourth-seeded Ladyjacks (22-8) moved one step closer to claiming the school's
16th tournament title, earning themselves a Thursday afternoon date against No.
8 seed Nicholls, which shocked regular season champion Central Arkansas earlier
Tuesday night.
Pushed to the
limit by the fifth-seeded Cardinals (16-15), SFA trailed 64-62 with 4:33
remaining before Newcomer of the Year Ashlee Mells' 3-pointer gave them the
lead for good at the 3:56 mark. Amina Sawyer followed with a basket to extend
the margin to 67-64. The Ladyjacks then put the game away on a Marion basket
and a layup from Freshman of the Year Porsha Roberts as the shot clock expired
with 39 seconds to play.
"We did about
as good as we could have done offensively," said Lamar coach Larry Tidwell,
whose team shot 47 percent from the field. "The thing it came down to is that
SFA made big shots."
The Cardinals
rode a remarkable effort from guard Kalis Loyd, who scored 21 of her game-high
27 points in the second half, including a stretch that saw her account for 15
of Lamar's first 18 points after intermission.
Loyd also
accounted for the Cardinals' last flurry, connecting on five consecutive free
throws that gave Lamar their two-point margin in the final four minutes.
"I felt that
I had to step up," said Loyd, who added five rebounds and three assists. "I did
what I had to do."
SFA was able
to withstand Loyd's second half barrage with a balanced scoring effort that saw
four players reach double figures on the evening. The Ladyjacks shot .619 (13
of 21) from the field in the second half, including six of their nine
3-pointers.
Marion led
the Ladyjacks with 16 points, while Roberts added 15, Courtney Conwright scored
12 and Sawyer chipped in with 10.
"Both teams
really had people step up and make big shots," said SFA coach Brandon
Schneider.
Brateicka
Mock had 11 points for Lamar, while Monique Whittaker had 10.
Postgame
Quotes
Stephen F. Austin
head coach Brandon Schneider
Opening statement...
"I
thought both teams played really, really well. The first thing you look at is
field goal percentage and both teams had people really step up and make big
shots. Lamar has such a great player in Kalis Loyd. We tried a bunch of
different things on her to try to slow her up, and most of them were
unsuccessful because she is just that good. I was really proud of our players
in crunch time. We didn't fragment. We really stayed together and stayed
positive down the stretch and had various people step up and make big plays."
On the game's last
three minutes...
"Guard
play in March is really important. Once we got a five-point lead, we felt like
we could milk the possession and try to run the shot clock down."
On SFA's 3-point
shooting...
"We
have a lot of confidence in the ladies who take them. When you are talking
about Tierany Henderson, Ashlee Mells and Tammara Marion, they are proven
3-point shooters who spend a lot of time in the gym. You put in all that work
for when the moment is big, you have the confidence to step up and do the job."
Stephen F. Austin
junior guard Ashlee Mells
On the game's last
three minutes...
"In the last three minutes, we were not going
to go down without a fight. We made some big shots, played some really good
defense and ended up with the win."
Stephen F. Austin
senior guard Tammara Marion
On the game's last
three minutes...
"We played as a team. In the last three
minutes, we were all pumped and hyped, and even with that little run that they
made, we couldn't break down from there. We huddled up and said, 'Just fight.'
And that is what we did."
Lamar head coach
Larry Tidwell
Opening statement...
"We
played just about as good as we could have done. Offensively, we shot 47
percent and 50 percent in the second half. And the thing it came down to was
that Stephen F. Austin made big shots. We had our chances. We had a five-point
lead but just made some mistakes down the line. You saw some great effort from
both teams. It was a good game, but we just came up short."
Lamar junior guard
Kalis Loyd
On her play
tonight...
"Sometimes,
somebody has to step up and I just felt like I needed to step up. The
opportunities were there, and I just did what I had to do."