Dec. 20, 2007

Box Score

NACOGDOCHES - Despite taking a 14-point lead into halftime, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (3-7) dropped their second consecutive game. Prairie View A&M rallied for a 66-63 victory Thursday night at the William R. Johnson Coliseum.

The Ladyjacks didn't take their first lead of the game until freshman Decreasha Goodner hit a layup and was fouled with 16:00 remaining in the first. Goodner completed the three-point play and SFA was off and running. Led by freshman Antoinette Davis' 11 first-half points, and sophomore Whitney Cormier's 10, SFA was able to extend its advantage to double digits.

SFA went on a 6-0 run to push its lead to 17, 36-19, with only 1:58 remaining in the half. The Lady Panthers would close out the half scoring four of the final six points to cut the lead to 38-24 heading into the locker room.

The Ladyjacks, who have struggled offensively to start games this season, jumped out of the gates in the first half connecting on 13-of-28 (.464) shots, while holding the visitors to a 28 percent clip. SFA also forced Prairie View A&M into 13 first-half turnovers, and outrebounded the Lady Panthers by one in the opening 20 minutes. But the Ladyjack team that went into the locker room was not the same team that returned to the floor.

The Lady Panthers opened the half on a 16-3 run to pull within a point, 41-40, less than six minutes into the half. The Lady Panthers rallied behind strong play at both ends of the floor. After struggling from the field in the first half, the Lady Panthers connected on 44 percent of their shots from the floor, including a 3-of-9 performance from beyond the arc.

While Prairie View A&M was starting to heat up, SFA's shooting began to head south. The Ladyjacks shot only 24 percent in the second half, while turning the ball over seven more times than their opponents.

Even with the early struggles to start the half, SFA appeared to stop the bleeding by pushing its lead back to three points, 43-40, but shortly thereafter senior Nikki Carr picked up her fourth foul and had to go to the bench. Head coach Lee Ann Riley utilized a lineup that consisted of four freshman and a sophomore for a good majority of the time. Although, Prairie View was able to take the lead, SFA didn't let the Lady Panthers run and hide.

Prairie View A&M built an eight point lead before SFA began to chip away. Trailing by six with less than two minutes remaining, junior Jessica Gaines drilled a 23-footer from the left of the circle to cut the deficit to three, 66-63. The Ladyjacks would hold on defense and get one more shot.

SFA went right back to Gaines who had just nailed her first three of the night just moments prior. She came off a screen and popped open momentarily only to have the shot miss the rim. Prairie View A&M got the rebound and was able to run out the final seconds.

SFA was led by Davis who finished the game with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Cormier added 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Carr finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Ladyjacks return to action Saturday, Dec. 29, when they travel to Tulsa, Okla., to take on the Golden Hurricane. The game against Tulsa is slated to begin at 2 p.m. from the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

-SFA-