Women's Basketball: March 5 Scoreboard
Stephen F. Austin 56, Northwestern State 45
Nicholls 53, Central Arkansas 43
New Orleans 84, Southeastern La. 75
Lamar 92, Sam Houston State 73
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 73, Houston Baptist 48
Abilene Christian 72, UIW 62
Stephen F. Austin 56, Northwestern State 45
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – There will be no sharing of the 2014-15 Southland Conference title, as the Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team took down Northwestern State 56-45 on Thursday night in William R. Johnson Coliseum to clinch the program’s 17th league championship outright.
The Ladyjacks, who secured a share of the crown last Saturday at Houston Baptist, have won back-to-back championships for the first time since 2001/2002. The outright feat is the first for the program since 2006.
SFA has won 10 straight games – the longest winning streak since the 2001-02 season – to improve to 22-6 overall and 15-2 in SLC action.
The Lady Demons (15-13, 10-7 SLC) held the advantage after a low-scoring first half, 22-18, but the Ladyjacks would heat up down the stretch. Porsha Roberts notched a double-double in the second half alone with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Taylor Ross scored all 11 of her points in the final period to help SFA outscore NWLA 38-23.
Roberts ended the game with a career-high 19 rebounds to go with 15 points. Her monster evening on the glass helped the Ladyjacks post more than double the rebound total of the Lady Demons at 61-30. Freshman Charisma Alexander grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds and Tierany Henderson hauled in seven. Twenty-two of the 61 boards came on the offensive glass.
The dominance on the boards proved to be the remedy for an off-shooting night for the 22nd best shooting team in the NCAA. SFA shot just 6-for-32 (18.8 percent) in the opening half and finished the night with a 28.8 percent mark – well below the team’s season average of 44.4.
Sophomore Brentney Branch had a huge first half to keep the Ladyjacks in the ballgame. The lethal three-point sharpshooter splashed in three triples in the opening frame to account for half of the squad’s scoring and ended the game with 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting from deep.
Brittney Matthew and Ross distributed the attack, dishing out five assists apiece.
The Ladyjacks will look to finish the season strong on Saturday evening when they welcome rival Sam Houston State to town for a 4:00 p.m. tip. A win would avenge a 65-64 loss to the Bearkats on Jan. 24 – the last time the Ladyjacks lost this season, as well as bump SFA to a 16-2 SLC record.
The Ladyjacks have won 14 straight games at home.
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Nicholls 53, Central Arkansas 43
THIBODAUX, La. – After racing out to a 21-point lead in the first half, the Nicholls State University women's basketball team went cold for the rest of the game, but the Colonels were able to generate just enough offense to hold off Central Arkansas to pick up a 53-43 win Thursday on Senior Night at Stopher Gym.
The victory set a program record for conference wins and secured a bye for the Colonels (16-12, 12-5 SLC) in next week's Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, Texas. Nicholls will be either the No. 3 or 4 seed, with its first game scheduled for Friday. With a win on Saturday in the regular season finale at Southeastern Louisiana, the Colonels would claim the No. 3 seed. A loss to SLU paired with a victory by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi would drop Nicholls to No. 4.
Although the Colonels honored their four-member senior class – Shay Arnick, Syleida Ellis, JonMarie Guillory and Jenny Nash – it was freshman Tia Charles who paced the team in scoring with a game-high 11 points. After Central Arkansas (17-12, 10-7 SLC) came within four points with 2:30 remaining in the game, Charles put the game on ice with four free throws down the stretch.
Nicholls shot 48 percent from the field in the first half and made 3 of 6 from 3-point range to lead 33-20 at the break. The Colonels led 18-10 midway through the period before outscoring Central Arkansas 15-2 over the next eight minutes. Taylor Morrison started the run with two field goals, Marina Lilly scored twice and Hope Pawlowski nailed a 3-pointer to give Nicholls a 31-12 advantage at the 5:27 mark.
Charles capped the run with a field goal just under the three-minute mark, but UCA closed out the half with eight consecutive points.
With 10 minute remaining the game, the Sugar Bears cut the deficit to six, but Veronica Ryan answered with a 3-pointer to put Nicholls up 41-32. UCA came within six again before Nash drained a 3-ball, pushing the lead back to nine with 5:48 to go.
Central Arkansas put together one last run, scoring six consecutive points to bring the score to 47-43 with 2:37 on the clock. However, Nicholls closed out the scoring with six free throws for the 10-point victory.
Nicholls shot 36 percent for the game and 10 of 14 from the free throw line. UCA finished at 38 percent and was just 2 of 13 from 3-point range.
Along with Charles, Nicholls was led by Nash with eight points and Arnick added seven points. Kendara Watts scored a team-high 10 points for UCA.
Nicholls will close out the regular season on Saturday, March 7, at rival Southeastern Louisiana. Tipoff at the University Center is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
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New Orleans 84, Southeastern La. 75
NEW ORLEANS, La. – With a game-high 30 points from freshman
Randi Brown the New Orleans women's basketball team took its third consecutive victory on Thursday night, toppling Southeastern at the Lakefront Arena, 84-75.
The career-high from the guard bolstered New Orleans to 7-19 on the year and 5-12 in the Southland Conference standings while dropping Southeastern to 7-21 overall and 3-14 in league play.
It was a tight affair through the first seven minutes of action until New Orleans clipped off a 14-0 run through the eight minute mark,
Yasmin Taylor topping off the spurt with a free-throw, setting the Privateers up, 26-15.
Southeastern managed to get back within three points with 3:19 to go with their sixth three-pointer of the half, but New Orleans held strong, finishing the first 20 minutes with a layup from Taylor, sending the game into the break with the Privateers up, 39-36.
Following the intermission it was the Lions that came out strong, taking a one-point lead at 41-40 through the first two minutes. But New Orleans responded with a 9-0 run with a
Randi Brown layup setting the Privateers back on top, 52-44, with 15 minutes to play.
A pair Taylor free throws with 13:09 on the clock then gave New Orleans its first double-figure lead of the night at 56-46 with back-to-back three-point plays then bringing the Privateers up by 16 at 64-48 midway through.
Clutch free-throw shooting coupled with shut-down defense then gave New Orleans all it needed as the Privateers took their third straight win, 84-75.
Brown was good on 12 of her 16 field goal attempts with five free throws to her name.
Alexis Martin also finished in double-figures with her 13 points while four Privateers finished with nine.
New Orleans is set to make its regular season final this Saturday, March 7, at 1 p.m. CT as the squad hits the road to take on Northwestern State prior to tipping off in the SLC Tournament next week in Katy, Texas.
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Lamar 92, Sam Houston State 73
BEAUMONT, Texas – Dominique Edwards collected her Southland Conference-leading 13th double of the season as the Lamar Lady Cardinals clinched second place in the league with a 92-73 win over visiting Sam Houston State on Thursday.
Edwards, one of three Lamar seniors playing their final regular-season game in the Montagne Center, finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds to make Senior Day a success. With the win, the Lady Cardinals (17-12 overall, 14-4 Southland) earned a bye into the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals.
Lamar will play at 3:30 p.m. March 14 against an opponent that has yet to be determined at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
“We wanted to be the No. 1 seed, but we will take the second seed,” Edwards said. “This is the last opportunity the seniors have to go to the NCAA Tourney, That’s something we really want to do.”
A pair of Lamar newcomers helped make Senior Day a success for the Lady Cardinals. Junior transfer Addesha Collins netted a career-high 24 points, while freshman Baileigh O’Dell had 18 points and six assists. Junior guard JaMeisha Edwards added 12 points in the win.
“I was I could contribute to the win on Senior Day,” said Collins, who was 14-of-15 from the foul line, tying the fourth-highest single-game total in program history.
As a team, Lamar went 33-of-40 from the charity stripe, the third-highest number of successful free throws in Lady Cardinals’ annals.
We were very concerned about this game because Sam Houston State is fighting to get into the tournament,” Lamar coach Robin Harmony said. “We wanted to send our seniors away with a win. We found a way to get it done.”
Lamar led 39-29 at halftime before the Bearkats (6-21, 5-12) cut the lead to 42-36 with 17:49 remaining in the second half. The Lady cards then went on a 9-1 run to take control of the game for good.
Senior Caroline Adesulu finished with seven points for Lamar, while senior Shauna Long had five points.
“I’m just really thankful for the opportunity over these past four years,” an emotional Long said after the game. “I have made some great friendships in my time here.”
The Southland Conference regular season ends Saturday, but the Lady Cards have a bye that day as well as for the first two days of the conference tournament that gets under way on March 12.
“Getting a bye into the semifinals is good for us,” Harmony said. “With the style we play, it would be tough to play three games in three days.
Last season, Lamar was the tournament’s top seed, only to get upset by Northwestern State in the semifinals. Instead of going to the NCAA Tournament, the Lady Cardinals went to the WNIT.
“We feel we have some unfinished business,” Dominique Edwards said. “That was definitely disappointing last season.”
With more than a week before their next game, the Lady Cardinals will have plenty of time to get prepared for the postseason.
“We have to come to practice and work with a purpose,” Harmony said. “These guys have to get greedy and want it. We can’t worry about the officials or anything else. We just have to go out and control our own destiny.”
The conference championship game is set for 12:05 p.m. March 15 at the Merrell Center, with the winner getting an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. All of Lamar’s postseason games will be carried live on KLVI (AM 560) and simulcast on
www.LamarCardinals.com.
The semifinals will be shown live on ESPN3, with the championship game televised live on the CBS Sports Network.
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 73, Houston Baptist 48
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Five players scored in double figures as the Islanders women's basketball team defeated Houston Baptist, 73-48, at the American Bank Center Thursday night. With the win the Islanders improved 15-13 overall and 11-6 in Southland Conference play.
The Islanders played its best offensive half of the year as it took a 42-29 lead to the locker room. The team shot 50 percent (15-of-30) from the floor, led by sophomore Kassie Jones' 15 points. The team scored 13 of its points in the half off of HBU turnovers. In all, the team scored 25 points off of 15 HBU miscues.
Houston Baptist (11-17, 5-12 SLC) was able to cut the lead to eight points at 49-41 with 14:36 left in the game, but the Islanders went on a 24-7 run to end the game.
Senior Olivia Fouty picked up her tenth double-double of the year in a 10 point, 12 rebound effort. Camesha Davis scored 11 and grabbed seven rebounds while Shay Weaver scored 12 points and picked up eight boards.
Bronx, N.Y. native Jennifer Ramirez paced the team throughout with 14 points and seven dimes. She also hit a career-high two 3-pointers on the night.
The team excelled from behind the arc, shooting 47.4 percent (9-19) on the night. The most three's in a game since December when they drained nine against Huston-Tillotson.
The last time A&M-Corpus Christi had five players in double digits was against New Orleans last season in a 97-44 victory over the Privateers.
The team will finish off the regular season on Saturday as they welcome Abilene Christian to town at 1 p.m. at the American Bank Center for Senior Day.
For the latest team information, like the team on Facebook (Islanders Women's Basketball), and follow the Islanders on Twitter and Instagram (@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 72, UIW 62
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A 20-point effort from sophomore
Lizzy Dimba combined with 16 points from her twin sister, Suzzy, and classmate
Alexis Mason led the Abilene Christian women's basketball team to a wire-to-wire 72-62 victory over Incarnate Word Thursday night at the McDermott Center.
The victory lifted ACU's season and Southland Conference records to 17-11 and 9-8, while the Cardinals (5-23, 2-15 Southland) saw their season-long losing streak extended to a 13th game.
ACU has swept its longtime rivals the past two seasons and have won eight of the last 10 meetings. In fact, the Wildcats haven't fallen to the Cardinals since the tail end of the 2012-13 campaign when both were part of the Lone Star Conference.
Suzzy Dimba scored the game's first six points within a 90-second window, first converting on a 'and one' opportunity on the Wildcats' opening possession and then burying a 3-pointer at the 18:28 mark. Suzzy would connect on only one more field goal the rest of the night, but was golden at the free-throw line, where she made all 11 of her attempts.
Dimba's perfect performance at the foul line made her only the eighth conference player this year to post a 1.000 free throw percentage when taking 10-or-more attempts.
Lizzy also had a solid night at the charity stripe, knocking down 8-of-11 tries, while
Sydney Shelstead was 2-of-2.
Whitney West went 4-of-4 in helping her team pull away late in the closing seconds.
The 25 free throws were a season high for ACU and its most since hitting 32 against Texas A&M-Commerce in December of 2012.
The Cardinals, too, were frequent visitors to the foul line as both Shelstead and
Suzzy Dimba fouled out, but the home team couldn't capitalize as it missed seven of 25 tries including three in the final 3:15.
A pair of free throws by Shanise Brooks with 2:41 to go trimmed ACU's lead to nine points and the Cardinals could have made it a two-possession game if not for missed foul shots by Yvonne Maosa at 2:36 and Jazmine Holman at 2:08.
Holman's first free throw made it a seven-point game at 67-60, but she missed her second try and on UIW's follow-up possession Alyssa Ward couldn't get her layup to drop. West then pushed ACU's lead back to nine points with only her second field goal of the game, and iced the victory seconds later with two free throws at the 40-second mark.
UIW additionally was hurt in the second half by 11 turnovers and a partial inability to get off a shot as the Wildcats' defense held them to just 17 field goal attempts over the final 20 minutes.
ACU didn't shoot the ball particularly well either following the break (8-of-22, .364), but made up for it through a stout defense and 20 points from the free-throw line.
The Wildcats went into halftime ahead 38-26 paced by Mason's 11 points off the bench, nine of which came off three 3-pointers.
UIW was led tonight by Maosa with 17 points followed by Brooks (14) and Aricka Adams (12). Brooks additionally led all players with eight rebounds, while Holman dished out a game-high seven assists.
Suzzy Dimba recorded the lone blocks of tonight's game with two, keeping her tied for second in the league (conference games) at 1.9 per game.
The Wildcats conclude their regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. ACU defeated the Islanders last month at Moody Coliseum, 76-41, but since then A&M-CC is 3-0 including tonight's slam-dunk 73-48 win over Houston Baptist at the American Bank Center.
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