CEDAR CITY, Utah- The Ladyjacks fell to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 59-67. The battle for first place resulted in SFA falling to 22-5 (12-3 WAC) and SUU improving to 17-8 (13-1 WAC).
The Ladyjacks found themselves in a very stagnant offense, early on. Their defense however caused problems for SUU, not allowing the Thunderbirds to get off very many shots. SFA found themselves down 13-14. SFA shot 5-18 in the 1st quarter, along with Southern Utah’s 5-12 from the field. The Ladyjacks continued to struggle offensively, through the second quarter. SFA was unable to put up as many shots or made field goals, falling to a 29-37 deficit at the half. SFA came out in the 3rd quarter with a lot more life on defense, holding the Thunderbirds to just 12 3rd quarter points. The Ladyjacks still found it hard to get anything going on offense, shooting 5-13 from the field and 0-4 from three. Stephen F. Austin was able to find success at the foul line, as a mix of Lumberjacks went 6-7 from the free throw line. SFA cut it to a four point game, only trailing 47-51 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The Ladyjack’s offensive woes continued, as they only posted 14 points on 4/13 shooting in the 4th.
Statistically, this was one of the worst offensive performances for the Ladyjacks. SFA finished their shooting 20-57 (35.1%) from the field and 3-19 (15.8%) from behind the arc. SUU shot 22-45 (48.9%) from the field and 4-7 (57.1%) from the three point line. Aiyana Johnson led the Ladyjacks in scoring, posting 22 points and shooting 10-17. Jordan Harrison was the second highest scorer for the Ladyjacks, posting 14 points. Avery Brittingham posted 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists. The Thunderbirds had 20 turnovers to the Ladyjacks 14 turnovers
The Ladyjacks will travel back to Nacogdoches, Texas on February 23rd. SFA will face off against the Sam Houston Bearcats, in SFA’s Pink Out Game at 6:30 p.m.