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KATY, Texas – The Southland Conference Women’s Player of the Year wasted little time establishing herself on Friday afternoon.
In the process, Taylor Ross and the rest of the third-seeded Ladyjacks imposed their will.
Ross scored six of her game-high 24 points in the first quarter to help SFA open on a 23-7 run on their way to a 77-63 victory over sixth-seeded McNeese in a second-round game at the Merrell Center, putting the third-seeded Ladyjacks (24-6) into Saturday’s semifinal against No. 2 Lamar at 3:30 p.m. The winners of that game advance to Sunday’s tournament championship game at 12 p.m.
“As I say, it’s ‘game on,’ so let’s play basketball from here on out,” said SFA head coach Mark Kellogg of his team, which had been bounced out of the previous two tournaments after playing just one game.
“We set the tone and the tempo. We were pretty efficient in the first half and really all the way around.”
The Ladyjacks shot 55.1 percent (16 of 29) from the field in the opening 20 minutes and bolted to a 41-20 halftime advantage.
While the offense rode the scoring of Ross and Third Team All-Conference forward Stevi Parker (18 points), the defense cooled off a McNeese team (14-17) that had scored 79 points in Thursday’s win over Nicholls, holding the Cowgirls to 36 percent shooting on the afternoon.
Ross scored the game’s first points with 8:59 to go in the first quarter as the Ladyjacks never trailed in the contest. After McNeese pulled to within four near the midway point of the opening ten minutes, the Ladyjacks closed out the quarter with a 12-0 run that was topped off when Chanell Hayes scored on a layup just before the horn sounded.
“It was really important,” Ross said of SFA getting off to a quick start. “We had to make sure were the first to get the momentum.”
Parker’s layup at the 6:01 mark of the second quarter expanded the lead to 29-10 before Ross’ basket with 3:40 left gave SFA a 36-15 edge. Ross then closed out the half with a pair of free throws that provided the Ladyjacks with a 21-point cushion at intermission.
Much of the defensive success came from the Ladyjacks’ ability to outrebound McNeese. SFA finished with 52 boards, 14 coming from Parker while reserve Riley Jackson added 10 in just 15 minutes of work.
“We had to make sure we emphasized on boxing out (Frederica Haywood) and (Mercedes Rogers),” said Parker, who pulled down five of SFA’s 21 offensive rebounds.
Kellogg added, “we didn’t change anything we normally do. It was just a point of emphasis for us.”
Haywood was still able to finish with 15 rebounds, yet was held to four points, while Rogers was limited to seven points and three rebounds.
Down 58-42 entering the fourth quarter, McNeese reached back and pushed their way back into the contest and inched to within 68-60 when senior Victoria Rachal converted a layup with 2:06 left. Ross scored on SFA’s ensuing possession to finally keep the Cowgirls for pulling closer.
“Once we settled into the game, we did a much better job,” said McNeese coach Kacie Cryer, who completed her first season at the helm of the Cowgirls. “They just kept battling.”
The Cowgirls will return both Haywood and Rogers along with four freshmen that saw extensive time this season, giving McNeese a foundation for a potential future run at the program’s third conference tournament title this decade.