Women's Basketball: Feb. 22 Scoreboard
Stephen F. Austin 68, Nicholls 59
Lamar 75, McNeese State 67
Northwestern State 75, New Orleans 63
A&M-Corpus Christi 61, UIW 49
Abilene Christian 83, Southeastern La. 65
Central Arkansas 65, Sam Houston State 63
Stephen F. Austin 68, Nicholls 59
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team used a double-double from Porsha Roberts and a 46-point second half to topple Nicholls State 68-59 inside William R. Johnson Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The win is the 12th straight for the Ladyjacks at home and the seventh straight overall.
Roberts led SFA with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting and brought down 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. Fifteen of her points came in the second half as the Ladyjacks (19-6, 12-2 SLC) shot 64 percent (16-for-25) from the field in the 46-point second half outburst. Roberts went a perfect 5-for-5 alone in the final 20 minutes.
After a defensive battle in the first half, SFA held a slim 22-21 advantage at the break. Both teams shot 29 percent from the floor in the opening period. The Ladyjacks created separation in the second by establishing a strong post presence, led by Roberts. SFA outscored Nicholls 32-18 in points in the paint, with 24 points coming in the second half.
The Colonels (14-11, 10-4 SLC) got out to a fast start in the second, using a 9-0 run out of the break to earn their first lead of the game and biggest lead of the afternoon at 30-22. The Ladyjacks answered with a 13-2 spurt, capped by a Taylor Ross three-pointer, to regain control 35-32 with 12:38 to play.
SFA would keep the lead for the remainder of the day, leading by as many as 10 (60-50) with 2:28 on the clock.
Tierany Henderson and Ross also finished the contest in double figures, chipping in 15 and 12 points, respectively. Each player went 5-for-10 from the floor, while Ross grabbed seven rebounds and Henderson pulled in five. Henderson made half (2) of the Ladyjacks’ four three-pointers in the game in five attempts from deep.
Senior Brittney Matthew and junior Paulletta Powell each scored seven points as all eight Ladyjacks who got into the game found the scoring column.
Charisma Alexander led SFA with four assists, Ross led the defensive pressure with four steals and Roberts and Henderson each recorded two blocks.
The Ladyjacks forced 23 turnovers and outscored the Colonels 20-8 in points off those miscues.
SFA will be back in action next Thursday at 7:00 p.m. against Incarnate Word at home. The Ladyjacks beat the Cardinals 64-47 earlier this year on Feb. 12.
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Lamar 75, McNeese State 67
BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar Lady Cardinals used a strong rebounding against McNeese State on Saturday to rebound back into the win column with a 75-67 victory over the Cowgirls in a Southland Conference women’s basketball game Saturday.
Lamar (15-11 overall, 12-3 Southland) outrebounded McNeese State 53-40 on the afternoon. With the win, Lamar remained in second place, a half-game behind Stephen F. Austin, but moved 1-1/2 games ahead of third place Nicholls.
JaMeisha Edwards led Lamar with 22 points. Baileigh O’Dell had 14 points, while Dominique Edwards had her 12th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds, to go along with six assists, which tied a career high. Freshman Laka Blache came off the bench to add a career-high nine points.
Blache, whose previous career best was seven points, expressed excitement about her role in the win.
Caroline Adesulu had seven points for Lamar, but it was her defense that made a difference. Adesulu had 11 rebounds and blocked five shots. As a team, the Lady Cardinals recorded a season-high nine blocks.
Lamar led 35-29 at halftime, but McNeese State (15-11, 9-6) kept it close in the second half. The Cowgirls cut the Lamar lead to 70-66 with 1:43 remaining, before Lamar closed things out by going 5-of-6 from the foul line down the stretch.
Allison Baggett led McNeese State with 24 points, while Amber Donnes added 16 points.
Lamar returns to action at 7 p.m. Thursday with a return match at McNeese State.
Following Thursday’s game at McNeese State, the Lady Cardinals host Incarnate Word at 4 p.m. Feb. 28 before closing out the regular season by entertaining Sam Houston State at 5:30 p.m. March 5.
All three remaining regular-season games and all postseason games will be carried live on KLVI (AM 560). For ticket information, call (409) 880-1715, or visit
www.LamarCardinals.com.
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Northwestern State 75, New Orleans 63
NEW ORLEANS, LA. – At times this season, Northwestern State’s Beatrice Attura has flashed the ability to score in bunches.
Attura returned to the lineup Saturday after missing Northwestern State’s last game because of an injury and delivered an immediate boost, setting a career high with 21 points as the Lady Demons downed Southland Conference foe New Orleans, 75-63, in women’s basketball action at Lakefront Arena.
While Attura set a career high in scoring for the third time this season, she was hardly the sole reason the Lady Demons (14-12, 9-6) picked up their fourth conference road win of the season.
Foul trouble limited Janelle Perez (15 points) and Tia Youngblood (10 points) to a combined 14 first-half minutes. Perez picked up her second foul with 14:16 to play in the first half and the Lady Demons trailing by two.
Thanks to an ensemble effort, NSU pushed the lead to as much as 15 before a late surge by the Privateers (4-19, 2-12) trimmed it to eight at halftime.
Lee scored just seven points but tallied a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, helping the Lady Demons post a plus-9 advantage in turnovers.
Northwestern State converted those 20 Privateers turnovers into 24 points, leading to a 17-point advantage in points off turnovers.
The Lady Demons kept the Privateers from building on their late first-half run by scoring 28 of the first 37 points of the second half, building a 27-point lead on a Sami Thomas steal and layup at the 11:21 mark of the second half.
Despite the Lady Demons’ salvo to start the second half, UNO did not fold.
After a Youngblood layup halted a 7-0 UNO run, the Privateers scored 20 of the next 27 points to cut the NSU lead to single digits for the first time since the start of the second half.
Despite Perez, Youngblood and Presley Owens fouling out in the final 3:19, the Lady Demons were able to keep their double-digit lead for all but nine seconds of that stretch as they ended a run of three straight conference road games on a high note.
In addition to Attura, Perez and Youngblood, Chelsea Rogers dropped in 14 points, giving NSU four double-figure scorers in a game for the first time since falling to Lamar on Jan. 17, a span of nine games.
Randi Brown led New Orleans with a game-high 22 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Yasmin Taylor had a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds, while Halie Matthews added 16 points for UNO, which had split its previous four conference games.
The Lady Demons conclude the regular season with two of their final three games at home. The first of those comes Thursday night at 6:30 when Northwestern State hosts Southeastern Louisiana.
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A&M-Corpus Christi 61, UIW 49
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team turned in a stellar defensive second half to post a 61-49 victory over Incarnate Word on Saturday at the McDermott Center. Kassie Jones led all players with 19 points and Olivia Fouty added 13 points and seven boards in the win for the Islanders (13-13, 9-6 Southland).
A&M-Corpus Christi held the Cardinals (5-20, 2-12) to 9-for-25 shooting after halftime, forcing them into 12 second-half turnovers in the process. The Islanders posted three blocks and four steals after the break. Aricka Adams led the Cardinals with 16 points, while Shanise Brooks had 10 in a losing effort.
The visitors jumped out to an early advantage on the strength of a trio of baskets inside to take a 6-2 lead. The Cardinals erased that with consecutive baskets to tie the game at 6-6, but Fouty drilled a three and then Shea Weaver added a jumper to put the Islanders ahead 11-6.
UIW then buckled down defensively, shutting down the Islanders to embark on a 9-0 run, capped off by an Alyssa Ward three-point play to make it 15-11 Cardinals at the 9:04 mark. Jones then snapped the run with a tough jumper in traffic, sending the visitors on a 6-2 run to tie the score at 17-17. After a UIW basket, the Islanders scored six in a row – four from Jones and the other two from Jennifer Ramirez – to gain a 23-19 advantage.
But the Cardinals countered with a jumper and then their second three-point play of the half, this one from Haley Frias, to regain the lead 24-23. The Islanders responded, though, with a layup from Camesha Davis and a second from Fouty to take a 27-24 advantage in the final minute of the half. Adams responded with a jumper, and then on the final possession of the half, she garnered a steal and took it all the way to the rack for a layup to send Incarnate Word to the locker room ahead 28-27.
Adams carried her momentum into the second half, getting a quick two to make it a 6-0 run on her own and a 30-27 lead for the home squad. The teams then traded points over the next several possessions, as the home squad pushed its advantage to 34-31 at the 17:39 mark.
At that juncture, the visitors locked down on the defensive end and converted on offense to embark on an 11-0 run that resulted in a 42-34 lead. Fouty and Ashanti Plummer started the rally with layups, while Jones added three points and Davis added a jumper to make it a six-point lead. On the defensive end, the Islanders held UIW to 0-for-9 from the field with four turnovers. Three of the Cardinals shots were blocked by A&M-Corpus Christi as well.
UIW was able to rally to cut the lead to 44-41 on a Brooks layup, but the Islanders mounted yet another run that was rooted in their defense. This one, a 9-2 streak, saw A&M-Corpus Christi force three UIW turns and up the offensive pace, getting baskets from Fouty, Ramirez, Jones and Davis. Davis capped off the run with a triple from the left corner that made it 55-43. From there, the Islanders were able to counter every Cardinal punch and led by at least 11 until the final whistle.
The Islanders will now have a week off until they return to the floor, for the annual Homecoming game on Saturday, Feb. 28. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will square off with Sam Houston State at noon at the American Bank Center as part of the Homecoming festivities.
For all the latest on Islanders Women's Basketball, be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersWBB) and like the team's official Facebook page (IslandersWBB). Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the Islanders Front Row App at goislanders.com/frontrow.
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Abilene Christian 83, Southeastern La. 65
HAMMOND, La. – ACU sophomore forward
Suzzy Dimba recorded her 10th double-double of the season Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats dominated Southeastern Louisiana in an 83-65 win over the Lady Lions in Southland Conference play at the University Center.
The win is the fourth straight for the Wildcats and seventh in their last nine games as they improve to 15-10 overall and 7-7 in the Southland Conference. After an 0-3 start to conference play, ACU is now 7-4 in its last 11 league games.
The Lady Lions had absolutely no answer for the trio of
Suzzy Dimba,
Lizzy Dimba and
Sydney Shelstead. Aside from
Suzzy Dimba's 23 points and 15 rebounds,
Lizzy Dimbahad 12 points and seven rebounds and Shelstead recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Those three players combined for 49 points and 33 rebounds, while Southeastern's three starters up front – Annessa De La Cruz, Jameika Hoskins and Adrina LaVern – combined for just 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Southeastern scored the game's first five poitns, but
Suzzy Dimba answered with a 3-pointer and a layup sandwiched around a Shelstead jumper to give ACU a 7-5 lead with 16:49 left in the first half. ACU would never trail the rest of the game. The Wildcats led 39-38 with 3:01 left in the first half before Shelstead hit a pair of free throws,
Alyssa Echolsburied a layup and
Suzzy Dimba hit a jumper to push the Wildcats' lead to 45-38 at halftime.
Southeastern would cut ACU's lead to 49-47 with 15:08 left in the game on a Hoskins jumper, but ACU answered with an 8-2 run over the next 3:14 to push the lead back to eight points (57-49).
Alexis Mason – who had 13 points off the bench – hit a pair of 3-pointers in the run and
Madison Parker hit two free throws to help give ACU a little bit of breathing room.
But Southeastern wouldn't go away as the Lady Lions got the ACU lead back down to 58-53 with 10:12 to play on a De La Cruz free throw. ACU, though, responded with a 7-0 run to push its lead to 12 points (65-53) with 6:28 to play. Shelstead hit four straight free throws before she hit a jumper and
Whitney West the second of two free throws to give ACU the separation it needed.
Suzzy Dimba hit a 3-pointer with 3:39 to play to give ACU its first 15-point lead of the game (72-57), and after Taylin Underwood hit a 3-pointer with 2:40 to play to make it 72-60, West answered with a 3-pointer of her own to push the Wildcats' lead back to 15 at 75-60 with 2:29 to play.
The last 148 seconds after that 3-pointer were academic as ACU hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final seconds to take the win.
Suzzy Dimba was 5 of 6 from the line with two rebounds and one steal in the final minutes as she helped secure the win for the Wildcats.
ACU is back in action Wednesday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Houston Baptist at Moody Coliseum in the final home game of the season.
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Central Arkansas 65, Sam Houston State 63
CONWAY, Ark. — After blowing a double-digit lead in Wednesday's last-second 65-63 loss to McNeese State, Central Arkansas looked poised to have a repeat performance on Saturday as an 18-point halftime lead all but disappeared against Sam Houston State, which had a chance at a lead in the final minute and a last-second attempt to tie.
But unlike Wednesday, this time the opposition misfired on its final shot and the Sugar Bears held on for the 66-63 victory over the Bearkats.
After a first half in which the Sugar Bears (15-11, 8-6 Southland) shot 59.3 percent and built their biggest lead in conference play this season at 41-23, things went decidedly in favor of the Bearkats (6-18, 5-9) through most of the second.
After holding SHSU's Shernise Robertson – the league's leading scorer at 19 points per game – to six first-half points, she single-handedly outscored the Sugar Bears 26-25 in the second half, making 7 of 10 field goals (including 4 of 6 3-point attempts) and was 8-for-9 at the free throw line.
Robertson had a chance to tie the game with nine seconds remaining but missed, and SHSU's Taylor Dorsey followed with another miss in the last second, with UCA's Jameka Watkins grabbing the rebound to seal the victory.
The Sugar Bears were able to stay afloat in the second half largely due to the shooting of Maggie Proffitt, who was 4-for-8, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, en route to 14 of her team-high 18 points. Outside of Proffitt, the Sugar Bears were just 3 of 13 (23 percent) in the half. Another key moment came with under 30 seconds left as Terai Sadlergrabbed an offensive rebound off a Brianna Mullins missed free throw, keeping possession with UCA with the Sugar Bears holding on to a 65-63 lead. After a timeout, UCA was able to work the ball to Proffitt, who drew a foul and made one of two free throws to set what would be the final margin.
In the first half, the Sugar Bears got 9 points each from Mullins and freshman Angel Williams, matching her season high. Mullins would go on to finish with 14 points and Kendara Watts – who had eight first-half points – finished with 12. Watkins had a game-high six assists, and Proffitt had a pair of blocks to lead the team.
Robertson led Sam Houston with 32, the most for an opposing player against the Sugar Bears this season. Dorsey added 16 points and 5 assists.
As a team, the Sugar Bears had just six turnovers, while Sam Houston had 16, helping to offset a 38-22 rebounding advantage for the Bearkats, who had 15 offensive rebounds to the Sugar Bears' five.
With the win, the Sugar Bears move into a tie with Northwestern State for 6th place and three games ahead of the Bearkats for the 7th seed in next month's Southland Conference tournament, with four games remaining in the regular season. The teams will meet again on Thursday in Huntsville, Texas before the Sugar Bears return home for the home finale next Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana.
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