Stephen F. Austin

March 10, 2007

HOUSTON, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team (21-10) defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday afternoon to advance to the 2007 O'Reilly Auto Parts Southland Conference Championship game for a second consecutive season. The Ladyjacks will face top-seeded Texas-Arlington Saturday in the title game. The Lady Mavs find themselves in the championship game after recording a 70-52 victory over Texas-San Antonio in the other semifinal game. The Ladyjacks enter the game having won two straight, and seven of the their last nine games. Texas-Arlington is 23-8 (.742) on the season and has won 17 consecutive games. Saturday's title game is slated to begin at 2 p.m. from the Campbell Center in Houston. The game will also be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.

The Ides of March: The Ladyjacks enter the 2007 SLC Championships looking to win their 16th SLC tournament title and make their 19th appearance in the NCAA Championships.

Been There, Done That: The 2007 Southland Conference Championship tournament marks the 20th consecutive trip to the conference playoffs for SFA. In fact, SFA has advanced to the league tournament every year since joining the league.

SFA in the SLC Championships: The Ladyjacks have been the Southland Conference's most dominant team in the league tournament. SFA is 38-4 (.905) all-time in the SLC Championships. The Ladyjacks have earned the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Championships 14 times, with one runner-up finish.

Being the Two Seed: The 2007 SLC Championship tournament marks the third time that SFA has entered postseason as the league's No. 2 seed (1995 and 2003). The Ladyjacks are 5-1 (.833) all-time in the tournament when entering as the second seed.

Directions to the Campbell Center: Fans interested in traveling to the Campbell Center for the SLC Championship game can get there by taking Highway 59 South to the Aldine-Bender exit. Take a right on Aldine-Bender, the Campbell Center will be approximately four miles down on the right.

The Benchmark: Success in collegiate basketball is often marked by the 20-win plateau. The Ladyjacks eight-point victory against Lamar Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the SLC Championships marked the second consecutive season that SFA has recorded at least 20 wins in a season. It also marks the 26th time in school history that SFA has recorded at least 20 victories in a season. The Ladyjacks enter Saturday's championship game with 21 wins.

Making a Return Finals: The Ladyjacks are making their 16th trip to the SLC tournament finals, and their second consecutive. The Ladyjacks are 15-1 (.938) all-time in the SLC finals. The Ladyjacks' lone loss in the finals was a 77-65 setback to Texas State (1997).

SFA vs. the No. 1 Lady Mavs: The Ladyjacks are 41-11 (.788) all-time against top-seeded Texas-Arlington. UTA has had some success in the series of late winning seven of the last eight meetings, including a sweep of the 2006-07 series. The Ladyjacks are 5-2 (.714) all-time against the Lady Mavs in the SLC Championship tournament.

Players of the Week: The Ladyjacks were honored by the league on three separate occasions with the SLC Player of the Week award. Senior Evelyn Edwards received her first-career honor Tuesday, Nov. 21st. Classmate Charity Egenti received the award on Monday, Dec. 11th and Tuesday, Jan. 9th.

SFA in Televised Games: The SLC Championship game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest Saturday, Mar. 10th. If SFA advances to the championship game it would mark the 27th time that SFA has played in front of a televised audience. The Ladyjacks 16-10 (.667) all-time in televised games. SFA went 1-2 (.333) in televised games this season.

All-SLC: The Ladyjacks placed three players on the 2007 All-SLC team. Senior Charity Egenti earned first-team honors and was named 2007 SLC Player of the Year, while junior Nikki Carr received third-team honors. Egenti finished second in the league in scoring (16.9 ppg) and blocked shots (1.8 bpg) and led the SLC in rebounding (9.5 rpg). Carr was second on the team averaging 10.6 ppg. She finished seventh in the league averaging 3.8 assist per game, and was second in the SLC in steals (2.6 spg). Senior Evelyn Edwards earned honorable mention all-conference honors during her senior season.

Double-Doubles: The Ladyjacks have recorded 21 double-doubles as a team in 2006-07. SFA is led by senior Charity Egenti who leads the league with 12. Classmate Evelyn Edwards added four double-doubles, while junior Nikki Carr recorded three and seniors Natalie Kizzee and Jennifer Simpson each recorded one.

More on Double-Doubles: Two Ladyjacks posted double-doubles Friday in the team's nine-point semifinal victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Senior Charity Egenti posted her 12th double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Nikki Carr posted her third double-double of the season when she recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds. It marks the second time this season that two Ladyjacks have recorded a double-double in a game (vs. Louisiana Tech).

Record Setters: The Ladyjacks have been the Southland Conference's top rebounding team this season, but Friday SFA took it to a new level. The Ladyjacks recorded a season-high 63 rebounds in their semifinal win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday. The 63 rebounds were also a new SLC tournament record, breaking the old mark set by Louisiana-Monroe during the 1998 season.

Crashing the Boards: The Ladyjacks are the league's top rebounding team. SFA led the conference averaging 44.9 rebounds per game, and also led the league with a +6.9 rebounding margin. The Ladyjacks pulled down at least 50 rebounds in a game 11 times, and at least 60 once. SFA pulled down a season-high 63 rebounds against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the SLC semifinals.

Attacking the Glass: Senior Charity Egenti might have struggled from the floor in the Ladyjacks' opening round game against Lamar, but she more than made up for it in the rebound column pulling down a game-high 18 boards, including 11 offensive boards. The 18 boards were only one shy of her career-high which she set earlier this season against Nicholls State. It marked the 13th time this season that Egenti has recorded at least 10 rebounds in a game.

The Pace Carr: Senior Nikki Carr had been struggling offensively, scoring only 18 points in the team's last four games, and not recording a three-point field goal in the team's last three contests. But she has turned things around in the SLC Championships. She is averaging 17.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals, 1.0 blocks per game.

20-Somethings: Senior Evelyn Edwards and Charity Egenti led the Ladyjacks with 23 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. It marked the 17th and 18th time this season that SFA has had a player score at least 20 points in a game. It also marks the second time this season that SFA has had two players score at least 20 points in a game.

Nacogdoches Block Party: Senior Charity Egenti recorded three blocks last week, which places her among the school's all-time top 10 in that category. Egenti is eighth all-time at SFA with 85 career swats. Teammate Evelyn Edwards is currently 10th all-time at SFA with 68.

Arc Angel: Nikki Carr is among the school's list of all-time three-point shooters and she is only a junior. She is currently seventh all-time with 96 career threes.

Up Next ... If SFA wins the SLC tournament, it will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The first round of the tournament will be Saturday, Mar. 17 and Sunday, Mar. 18. The selection show will be Monday, Mar. 12 at 7 p.m. Central time on ESPN.