Stephen F. Austin

Feb. 2, 2004

NACOGDOCHES - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball returns to the William R. Johnson Coliseum this week after the thrilling come-from-behind victory at Hammond, La., Saturday over Southeastern Louisiana. The Ladyjacks will look to make it two wins in a row when they face Southland Conference defending regular-season champion Texas-San Antonio Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The game against the Roadrunners will also be televised live on FOX SportsNet. SFA will be back in action two days later to host Louisiana-Monroe. The game against the Lady Indians is slated to tipoff at 6:15 p.m.

SFA vs. the Roadrunners: The Ladyjacks are 26-2 (.929) all-time against Texas-San Antonio. SFA has won 26 of the last 27 meetings but the lone loss during that stretch came last season in San Antonio, when the Roadrunners recorded a 65-50 victory. The Ladyjacks defeated UTSA, 54-42, last season when the two teams met in Nacogdoches.

SFA vs. the Lady Indians: The Ladyjacks are 37-12 (.755) all-time against Louisiana-Monroe. The Ladyjacks have won six of the last eight meetings between the two teams. Louisiana-Monroe recorded a 70-51 victory over the Ladyjacks last month in Monroe.

Tradition of Winning: The SFA Ladyjack basketball program has been one of the most dominant in women's basketball history. The Ladyjacks are among the nation's all-time top 10 with 732 wins. The Ladyjacks are also among the all-time top 10 with a .742 winning percentage (732-255).

Tradition of Winning in the SLC: As dominant as SFA has been nationally, they have been just as dominant in the Southland Conference. The Ladyjacks are the conference's most dominant team, compiling a 252-29 (.897) all-time record. SFA has won 14 of a possible 16 SLC tournament titles and 13 regular-season titles. SFA has also recorded four undefeated seasons in league play and has had 36 players named All-SLC.

Riley vs. the SLC: SFA head basketball coach Lee Ann Riley is in her third season with the Ladyjacks. During that span, Riley has coached her troops to a 37-10 (.787) mark in Southland Conference games.

Home Sweet Home: The Ladyjacks are one of the all-time winningest teams at home, with an all-time record of 320-79 (.802). The Ladyjacks have now won 54 of their last 64 games in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. The Ladyjacks were 10-2 at home last season.

Ladyjacks on TV: The Ladyjacks' game against Texas-San Antonio will mark the 20th time in school history that SFA has played a game on television. The Ladyjacks are 14-5 (.737) all-time in televised games.

Academic Shootout: The Ladyjack Academic Shootout will be held Saturday Feb. 21st, when the Ladyjacks host Nicholls State. There will be a pledge table set up at the front gate of the William R. Johnson Coliseum at every remaining home game for fans to sign up. Fans can pledge money for every point the Ladyjacks score against NSU. The money will go to help raise funds for summer school scholarships.

Career-High: Freshman Jennifer Simpson had a breakout game for SFA Saturday night in the win over Southeastern Louisiana. Simpson came off the bench and played 27 minutes, scoring a career-high 12 points on 5-of-9 (.555) shooting. Simpson was also 2-of-3 (.667) from beyond the three-point arc.

Post Presence: Junior Zedralyn Butler also recorded a career night against Southeastern Louisiana. Butler scored a career-high 11 point, tied a career-high with her six rebounds and blocked a career-high four shots. Butler was 5-of-8 (.625) from the floor.

Need ASSISTance: Freshman Nikki Carr recorded a career-high eight assists in the victory over Southeastern Louisiana. Carr led the Ladyjacks to a season-high 19 assists against the Lady Lions. It is the most assists by a Ladyjack team since they recorded 21 against Sam Houston State last season.

Double-Double: Sophomore LaToya Mills recorded her fifth double-double of the season Saturday and the eighth of her career when she scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the win over Southeastern Louisiana. Mills is averaging 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds over the last six games, including three double-doubles.

The Defense Doesn't Rest: The Ladyjacks held Southeastern Louisiana to 19-of-64 (.297) from the floor Saturday. It is the first time this season that SFA has held an opponent under 30 percent and the first time since SFA held Texas-San Antonio to 14-of-54 (.259) performance here in the Coliseum last year.

Crashing the Boards: The Ladyjacks outrebounded Southeastern Louisiana, 50-33, Saturday marking the second time this season that SFA has recorded at least 50 rebounds and the sixth time this year that the Ladyjacks have outrebounded an opponent. SFA is averaging 36.9 rebounds per game but has pulled down 43.8 over its last seven games.

Air Raid: Sophomore guards Kirby Killingsworth and Britany Vinson are leaving their mark on the SFA record books. With her triple against Southeastern Louisiana, Killingsworth now has 70 for her career. The 70 three-pointers are the seventh-best mark in school history. Vinson has nailed 45 treys in her career, placing her 11th all-time at SFA. Vinson leads the team and is third in the league with a .375 three-point field-goal percentage.

Looking Ahead ... The Ladyjacks will be back in action on Tuesday Feb. 10th, when they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a non-conference match-up. The Ladyjacks are set to tipoff at 7 p.m., against Islanders. SFA will return to conference action on Valentine's Day, when they travel to Arlington, Texas, to take on the Lady Mavericks. The game against UTA is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.