March 7, 2008

NACOGDOCHES - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack basketball team locked up a berth in the 2008 Southland Conference Championship tournament Wednesday evening with their 66-63 victory at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. SFA is now 11-16 (.407) on the season, and 8-7 (.533) in conference play, and currently holds the No. 5 seed in the tournament. The Ladyjacks will look to take a two-game winning streak into the tournament as it prepares to face Texas-San Antonio (19-8/11-3 SLC) Saturday in the regular-season finale. The Roadrunners have won two straight, and 12-of-their-last-14, and are coming off a 76-55 win over Sam Houston State Thursday night.

The Ladyjacks are 30-7 (.811) all-time against Texas-San Antonio, but have struggled against the 'Runners lately. UTSA has won three straight, and five of the last seven meetings in the series. The Roadrunners recorded a 75-62 decision earlier this season in San Antonio. The Ladyjacks dropped a 61-55 decision to UTSA last season in the William R. Johnson Coliseum.

Senior Nikki Carr will be suiting up for the final time in front of the Ladyjack faithful Saturday when SFA hosts Texas-San Antonio. Carr will leave SFA among the school's all-time top 20 in points (1,163), top 10 in three-point field goals (121) and assists (411) and is the school's second all-time leading thief with 268 career steals. The 5-6, Hawkins, native, averaged 9.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists 2.3 steals per game during her career. Carr helped guide SFA to a 63-55 (.534) overall record, and a 41-21 (.661) mark in SLC games. She was also a part of two 20-win seasons, won an SLC regular-season and tournament title, and a member of a 2006 team that advanced to the NCAA Championships and the 2007 team that qualified for the WNIT. Carr has also earned All-SLC recognition each of the past two seasons, and is a strong candidate for the honor again this season.

The Ladyjacks have advanced to the Southland Conference Championships. The tournament will begin Wednesday, March 12, at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The SLC Championship game will be played Saturday at 3 p.m.

-SFA-