Women's Basketball: Feb. 7 Scoreboard
Nicholls 70, McNeese State 59
Stephen F. Austin 72, Houston Baptist 67
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 63, Sam Houston State 50
Lamar 67, UIW 45
Central Arkansas 50, New Orleans 44
Abilene Christian 75, Southeastern Louisiana 74
Nicholls 70, McNeese State 59
THIBODAUX, La. – Behind a career-high 26 points from Jenny Nash, the Nicholls State University women’s basketball team won its fifth consecutive game by defeating McNeese State, 70-59, on Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym.
With the win, Nicholls improved to 12-10 on the year and 8-3 in conference. The Colonels stay a game back in the loss column of Lamar and Stephen F. Austin, who both play later this evening. The loss dropped McNeese to 12-10 overall and 6-5 in the Southland.
Nash went the distance for the Colonels, knocking down 5 of 9 3-pointers en route to her career day. Nicholls, which held a 16-point advantage at the half, saw its lead shrivel to seven after eight minutes in the second half. But Nash answered the run with a 3-pointer and a layup and the lead stayed in double figures for the rest of the game.
Over the last six games, the senior from Houston has made 20 3-pointers on 57 percent shooting. As a team, Nicholls made four in the first half, getting two from Nash, one from Emani White, who scored all 10 of her points in the period, and one from Taylor Morrison.
The game was close through the first eight minutes until Nicholls went on a 12-2 run to take a 24-13 lead. The Colonels made three 3-pointers during the stretch, including two by Nash. Still leading by 11, White hit a 3-ball and added two free throws before Marina Lilly scored inside to cap a 7-0 run which pushed the Colonels’ margin to 37-19 right before the break.
McNeese’s second-half run was fueled by Jalyn Johnson and Frederica Haywood, bringing the deficit to 46-39 with 12:04 remaining in the game. But after Nash scored five straight, the Colonels led by as much as 18 in the final period en route to their fifth win over McNeese in the last six meetings.
The Colonel defense held their opposition to less than 60 points for the fourth straight outing, and the Red and Gray turned 18 Cowgirl turnovers into 27 points. Nicholls also dominated the glass, grabbing 20 on the offensive end to outrebound McNeese, 42-32.
McNeese shot 47 percent from the field and was led in scoring by Haywood with 15 points.
The Colonels will have the week off before continuing its three-game home stand on Saturday, Feb. 14 against Southeastern Louisiana. Tipoff at Stopher Gym is slated for 1 p.m.
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Stephen F. Austin 72, Houston Baptist 67
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – For the second game in a row, a trio of seniors made big plays down the stretch to help the Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team earn a big Southland Conference victory over Houston Baptist, 72-67, on Saturday evening inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
After a long battle all afternoon, the Ladyjacks (15-6, 8-2 SLC) and the Huskies (9-13, 3-8 SLC) were all square at 65-65 with 2:16 left in the game. The SFA four-year seniors, Porsha Roberts, Brittney Matthew and Tierany Henderson all knocked down key shots in the closing minutes to help SFA claim its third straight victory.
Roberts broke the tie with a slick layup off a pass from Taylor Ross to make it 67-65. With 39 seconds to play, Henderson drilled a three-pointer from the right wing to make it a five point game. Matthew iced the game after a pair of free throws with 17 ticks on the clock to put the finishing touches on a hard-fought affair.
Roberts led the Ladyjacks offensively with 24 points on 11-for-15 shooting. She hauled in 10 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season to go along with two blocks and two steals.
Henderson finished the game with 16 points on a 6-for-11 mark from the floor, including a 2-for-4 effort from beyond the arc. She added three blocks to lead SFA around the rim.
Ross distributed the attack with a game-high nine assists. She also was a terror inside the paint, tallying 18 points with several buckets coming on excellent dribble penetration. She made 6 of 9 shots and hit 6 of 8 free throw attempts in the game.
As a team, SFA had one of its best shooting performances of the year, hitting 52.8 percent of its shots (28-for-53). The Ladyjacks enjoyed a plus 13 rebounding margin (38-25) thanks in part to Roberts’ 10 boards and a new career-high from freshman Charisma Alexander. Alexander rounded up nine rebounds on the night and also chipped in seven points off the bench.
The Huskies started red hot from the field and shot the ball at a 59.4 percent rate in the opening half. The Ladyjacks’ defense would stiffen in the second period, limiting HBU to a 37 percent clip.
HBU posted its biggest lead with 4:05 to play in the first half, 38-29. Henderson would lead an 8-2 charge to close out the period and make it a 40-37 HBU lead at the break. The senior scored six of her 16 points during the stretch.
The Ladyjacks kept the momentum with them to start the second half by opening play with 9-0 run, capped by an Alexander jumper in the paint. The 46-40 lead was SFA’s biggest advantage of the game as neither team could establish much separation over the duration of Saturday’s matchup.
The Ladyjacks will make two long trips next week when they face Incarnate Word in San Antonio on Thursday night at 6 p.m. and then head to Corpus Christi for a date with the Islanders on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 63, Sam Houston State 50
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Three Islanders scored in double-figures as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team picked up its 11th win of the year and seventh Southland Conference victory, defeating Sam Houston State, 63-50, Saturday afternoon.
A&M-Corpus Christi was led by Shay Weaver who scored a team-high 16 points while Camesha Davis and Olivia Fouty each scored 14 as the Islanders led from start to finish at the Johnson Coliseum.
The second half was a much more contested contest than the first half as the Bearkats (6-15, 5-6 SLC) opened by scoring eight of the first 10 points to cut the lead to four points at 30-26 and seize a bit of the momentum from the Islanders.
C. Davis answered on the offensive end with a tip-in layup to break the scoreless streak. Kassie Jones then followed with layup on the other end, before junior Gee Lawler made her presence felt in the paint scoring back-to-back buckets for the Islanders.
Fouty, a transfer senior, scored seven points in each period on her way to picking up her 1,000th career point. Fouty grabbed five rebounds, two blocks and two steals on the day.
A&M-Corpus Christi could not have asked for a better start to a game. In control from the opening tip to halftime, the Islanders held the Bearkats to 18.5 percent (5-of-27) shooting in the first half. With a total team defensive effort, AMCC was able to hold the Southland Conference leading scorer, Shernise Robertson, to just five first-half points and 1-of-7 shooting.
Camesha Davis had her best first half of the season as she put in 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. The 6-foot-1 forward nailed two 3-pointers on her way to scoring seven of the teams first 10 points.
A&M-Corpus Christi led by as many as 18 in the first half, up 28-10 with 3:45 remaining. The home squad was able to end the half on a 6-0 run though, cutting the lead to 12 at 28-16 heading into the locker room.
The Islanders shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the field while holding SHSU to 32.1 percent (18-of-56). A&M-Corpus Christi also connected on five shots from outside and dished out 16 assists. Junior Jennifer Ramirez setup the Islanders to score on eight occasions.Lawler finished with four points and three blocks.
AMCC returns home on Thursday when they play host to the Privateers of New Orleans. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Stripes Court at the American Bank Center.
For the latest team information, like the team on Facebook (Islanders Women's Basketball), and follow the Islanders on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersWBB).
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Lamar 67, UIW 45
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Kiandra Bowers scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Lamar Lady Cardinals to a 67-45 win over Incarnate Word in a Southland Conference women’s basketball game Saturday.
Bowers added nine rebounds and a career-best five steals as Lamar (13-10 overall, 10-2 Southland) extended its winning streak to five games and maintained a one-game lead over Stephen F. Austin at the top of the Southland Conference standings.
Dominique Edwards notched her conference-leading double-double of the season as she finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Baileigh O’Dell also had 11 points to go along with five assists, tying her career high, for the Lady Cardinals. JaMeisha Edwards, who had 29 points in Thursday’s win at Incarnate Word, finished with nine points.
Incarnate Word had no answer for Lamar’s inside game, as the Lady Cardinals had a 40-18 advantage in points in the paint. When Incarnate Word did get the ball inside, Lamar rejected seven of UIW’s shots. Caroline Adesulu had three of those blocks, moving into sole possession of eighth place on Lamar’s all-time list with 64 blocks.
Lamar returns home to host Houston Baptist at 7 p.m.
Thursday in the annual Pink Out Game to raise awareness for breast-cancer research. For ticket information, call (409) 880-1715, or visit www.LamarCardinals.com.
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Central Arkansas 50, New Orleans 44
CONWAY, Ark. — For the 10th time this season, Central Arkansas held an opponent to fewer than 50 points – limiting New Orleans to just 18 in the first half en route to a 50-44 Sugar Bear win in the Farris Center on Saturday.
The Sugar Bears (13-9, 6-4 Southland) completed their season sweep of the Privateers (3-17, 1-10), won their third straight game and for the fourth time in their last five by holding UNO to just 37.3 percent shooting from the field. UNO was just 15.4 percent from 3-point range – going just 1-for-12 from beyond the arc before knocking one down at the final buzzer.
After building a 12-point lead at the half, the Sugar Bears struggled offensively in the second half – shooting just 7 for 27 (25.9 percent) from the field and 3 of 6 from the free throw line. The Privateers made a run midway through the half to cut the UCA lead to three at 42-39 with 11:10 left, but then UCA held UNO scoreless over the next 10 minutes as the Sugar Bears built the lead back up to nine.
The lead hit 10 in the final minute on a pair of Brianna Mullins free throws with 45 seconds remaining before the Privateers closed it out with a free throw with 32 seconds to play, followed by the Danielle Davis 3-pointer as time expired.
Coming into the game with the Southland's top scoring defense at 57.1 points allowed per game, the Sugar Bears held the Privateers to 11 points beneath their Southland-worst scoring average of 55.3. In their three meetings over the past two seasons, the Sugar Bears have held the Privateers to an average of 40 points per game. UNO came into Saturday's game fresh off its first Southland Conference win, having defeated McNeese State 90-86 in triple overtime on Thursday.
The Sugar Bears got 16 points from Maggie Proffitt, who has averaged 23 points over the last three games and 17.1 per game in the Sugar Bears' victories this season. Brianna Mullins added 14 points, a team-high 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists. Halie Matthews and Brown had 13 points each for the Privateers.
UCA travels to Natchitoches, La. next week to face Northwestern State on Thursday before playing its next three games in the Farris Center on Feb. 15 vs. Incarnate Word, Feb. 18 vs. McNeese State and Feb. 21 vs. Sam Houston State.
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Abilene Christian 75, Southeastern Louisiana 74
ABILENE, Texas – After back-to-back losses to Lamar last week that halted some of the momentum they had built over the previous week, the Abilene Christian women's basketball team needed a win any way it could get one.
Saturday afternoon that meant the Wildcats had to fend off two Southeastern Louisiana shots inside the last eight seconds and two inbounds passes under the Lady Lions' basket in order to hang on for a 75-74 win in Southland Conference action at Moody Coliseum.
The win snaps a short two-game losing streak for the Wildcats and pushes them to 12-10 overall and 4-7 in the Southland. Southeastern Louisiana, meanwhile, falls to 7-14 and 3-7. ACU is back in action Thursday at 6:30 p.m. when it takes on Sam Houston State in Huntsville.
ACU trailed Southeastern 47-41 at halftime, but a better defensive effort helped the Wildcats to a 71-62 lead with 6:48 to play. After giving up 47 first-half points on 48 percent shooting from the field, the ACU defense clamped down in the second half, allowing just 27 points and 29 percent shooting (9 of 31).
The Wildcats trailed 59-54 with 12:18 to play after a 3-pointer by Peaches Anderson, but they ripped off a 17-3 run over the next six minutes to take the six-point lead. Junior guard Whitney West had seven points in the game-changing run for the Wildcats, while Suzzy Dimba, Lizzy Dimba, Madison Parker, Sydney Shelstead, Paris Webb and Sydney Shelstead each had two points for the Wildcats int he run.
Offensively, the Wildcats made an even more concerted effort in the second half to get the ball inside to Shelstead and the Dimba twins and with drives to the bucket by their guards. Shelstead and Lizzy Dimba each finished with double-doubles with 17 and 15 for Shelstead and 17 and 13 for Lizzy Dimba, while Suzzy Dimba finished with 15 and 5. ACU out-scored the Lady Lions in the 49-18 for the game, including 27-6 in the second half.
With the Wildcats' inside game effective, they virtually abandoned the 3-point shot as the team has taken and made more 3-pointers than any other team in the league shot a season-low 14 3-pointers (making four) in Saturday's game.
All of that led to ACU's 71-62 lead with 6:48 to play. That lead, however, shrunk to 72-68 with 2:28 to play on a free throw by Jameika Hoskins and then down to 72-71 with 2:03 left on a layup by Hoskins. Suzzy Dimba made a big jumper with 1:46 to play to give ACU a 74-71 lead, and then Shelstead hit the second of two free throws with 1:19 to play to make it a 74-71.
Elizabeth Styles buried a 3-pointer for the Lady Lions – their 13th of the game – with 42 seconds left in the game to cut ACU's lead to 75-74, setting up the frantic final seconds.
Webb missed a short jumper in the lane for ACU with 14 seconds left and Dani Fielder grabbed the rebound for the Lady Lions and they raced to the other end. Elizabeth Styles missed a jumper with eight seconds left and Lizzy Dimba grabbed the rebound, but fell to the ground with 6.3 seconds left and was called for a travel.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Nanna Pool missed a short jumper and the ball went off a Wildcat player out of bounds with 1.9 seconds left. Once again the Lady Lions inbounded under their own basket, but this time Styles lost control of the ball and Whitney West – who had 14 points in the game – fell on the loose ball as time expired.
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