NACOGDOCHES, Texas- The Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team (13-2, 3-1 SLC) continued their conference slate against the Incarnate Word Cardinals (7-6, 2-2 SLC) Saturday afternoon.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair as neither team held more than a three-point lead until SFA went on a 5-0 run to take a 14-8 lead with 2:41 left in the quarter. Both teams continued to trade blows for the rest of the quarter. Incarnate Word was able to get a last second three-pointer to cut the deficit down to five, 18-13 at the end of the first quarter.
A layup from Avery VanSickle extended the ‘Jacks lead to seven before the Cardinals went on a 4-0 spurt that was then silenced by a three from VanSickle, 23-17. With 5:22 left in the first half, SFA went on a 7-0 run to take a 32-20 lead. UIW made three free throws to bring the deficit back to single digits, 32-23. The Cardinals made a jumper with 15 seconds left as they continued to chip away at the ‘Jacks lead. SFA went into the locker room with a 35-28 lead.
Trinity Moore got the scoring started for SFA in the third quarter with a layup, 37-28. Both teams traded baskets for the rest of the third quarter, but the ‘Jacks maintained a seven point lead after a made free throw from Ashlyn Traylor-Walker, 48-41.
The defensive battle continued in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter until the Ladyjacks went on a 6-0 spurt that included layups from Cha Gardner, Traylor-Walker, and VanSickle to bring the lead back up to 10, 56-46. UIW responded with a five-point run to cut the lead to five, 56-51 with 4:24 left in the game. After another three from VanSickle, the Cardinals went on a 6-2 run with back-to-back three-pointers to bring the deficit down to four, 61-57 with 1:37 left. Free throw shooting was critical for the Ladyjacks down the stretch as four different ‘Jacks made free throws to ice the game, 67-60.
Top Players of the Match:
• Faith Blackstone: 18 points (led team), 11 rebounds (career-high & led team), first DI double-double
• Avery VanSickle: 15 points, three three-pointers (led team), two assists
• Ashlyn Traylor-Walker: 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists (led team), five steals (ties career high & led team)
• Trinity Moore: nine points, four rebounds, two steals
TICKET INFORMATION
Join SFA Women’s Basketball at William R. Johnson this winter! Season tickets and single game tickets are on sale now. Fans can visit SFAtickets.com for more information.
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By: Amanda Paver, SFA Assistant Director for Strategic Communications