Banfield comes up big off the bench, Ladyjacks beat ACU 66-55
Fans of both Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian arrived at William R. Johnson Coliseum to catch a battle between two undefeated teams in Southland Conference play. It was a display of force between the league's premiere backcourt and an equally formidable frontcourt.
It did not disappoint.
The Ladyjacks avenged a loss in Nacogdoches, putting together their most complete performance of conference play, and sent ACU on a long drive home after beating them 66-55 on Wednesday night.
The Ladyjacks couldn't come up with a field goal for the first six minutes of the game, but they erased an early defecit with the assistance of Lovisa Brunnberg's three-point shooting. Eight of SFA's first 10 points came from the free throw line, where they made eight of nine in the opening frame.
SFA took control of the contest in the third quarter, allowing just seven Wildcats points and a single field goal. The charge was led by senior forward Stevi Parker and freshman point guard Marissa Banfield, who combined for 32 points on the night. Banfield, who saw big minutes with senior Taylor Jackson in foul trouble, was particularly brilliant as SFA turned a nailbiter into a double-digit lead.
The Wildcats would make their run late in the fourth quarter, making a two-possession game of it, and matching the Ladyjacks’ 18 fourth-quarter points, but SFA hit free throws down the stretch and held on for their biggest win of the young season.
With a Central Arkansas loss to New Orleans on Wednesday on top of SFA's win over ACU, the Ladyjacks can now claim first place in the Southland Conference, alone in the loss collumn with "0."
The Ladyjacks have been anything but aesthetically pleasing in conference play this season, but a win over the defending champs certainly looks to be a step in that direction. “We’ve got a lot of work to do," head coach Mark Kellogg said. "But let’s keep getting better by winning rather than losing.”
Coach Kellogg also acknowledged that while the confidence grows, so does the target on their backs moving forward.
But on this night, at least, Banfield was the story of the game, playing her biggest minutes in maybe her hardest matchup to date. At least on this night, the freshman played like a star. “I had to step up,” she said. Kellogg echoed her sentiment: “In a night that we needed the freshman, she was pretty dang good."
A week of rest will give the women time to prepare for another top contender next Wednesday night at WRJ, when they host Central Arkansas, the one-loss team who ended the Ladyjacks' season last year in the Southland Conference Tournament championship in 2017. “We’re not gonna lose any momentum, by any means,” Kellogg said of the seven-day break. “It’ll be a positive.”
The purple lights will shine tonight on a first place team, at least for the next week, as the Ladyjacks stand alone in undefeated company, after defending their home court yet again.