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KATY, Texas – HBU overcame an 18-point first-half deficit behind the hot hand of senior guard Tayler Jefferson as the eighth-seeded Huskies upset top-seeded Stephen F. Austin, 88-81, in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Saturday afternoon at the Merrell Center.
 
The Huskies (15-17) will face sixth-seeded Northwestern State in the championship game Sunday at noon on CBS Sports Network. The Lady Demons defeated second-seeded Lamar, 70-64, in overtime in the other semifinal. The winner receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, which begins on Friday, March 20.
 
"Coach wrote it on the board at the beginning of the season – 'March 15' – this has been our goal since the first day of practice," an emotional junior guard Rachel Arthur said after the game. "We're so happy we made it (to the championship game), and I'm so proud of our whole team."
 
Jefferson tied her career high with 29 points, shooting 10-for-17 from the field, including a career-high six 3-pointers, to go along with three assists and three steals. She also became the ninth player in program history to top 1,000 career points. Arthur added 22 points, six assists and three blocked shots. Sophomore guard Heidi Sihvola scored 10 points and handed out five assists, while senior forward Erin McGarrachan had nine points, six rebounds and three blocks. Junior forward Monet Neal also had nine points and three blocks, and junior forward Anna Strickland led HBU with eight boards.
 
"People were telling me before the game that our kids' were not going to have the legs (playing three games in three days), they were going to be tired," HBU head coach Donna Finnie said. "Your legs still work when your heart beats. Our whole team played with heart today."
 
Porsha Roberts led SFA (23-7) with 22 points, eight rebounds and four steals, while Taylor Ross scored 14 points, but went 4-of-12 from the field and 6-for-11 from the line. Brentney Branch scored all 14 of her points in the second half, hitting 4-of-5 from downtown. Brittney Matthew chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and six assists, while Tierany Henderson also scored nine for the Lady Jacks.
 
HBU shot a blistering 60.4 percent from the field for the game, including 8-for-11 on 3-pointers and went 22-for-29 from the free throw line. SFA shot 44.8 percent from the field, 8-for-16 from long distance, and 13-for-18 from the line. The rebound battle was even at 30, despite the Lady Jacks pulling down 17 offensive rebounds.
 
Arthur's three-point play at the 15:58 mark of the first half put the Huskies up by one, but the Lady Jacks scored the next seven. SFA went up 30-12 with 8:37 remaining, but HBU went on a 10-0 run, which included back-to-back 3-pointers by Sihvola to trim the deficit to eight with just under six minutes to go.
 
Roberts ended the spurt with a pair of free throws, but Jefferson nailed a three on the other end. After a three-point play by Matthews put the Lady Jacks ahead, 35-25, the two teams traded baskets until Jefferson made one-of-two free throws, then drilled a triple to cut SFA's lead to six with 1:48 left. Jefferson made a steal and took it the distance with 21 ticks on the clock as the Huskies went into halftime trailing, 41-37.
 
HBU shot 59.1 percent in the first half, making all four of its 3-point attempts, and 7-of-9 from the line, while SFA shot 46.2 percent, 1-for-3 from behind the arc, and 4-for-6 from the line. The Lady Jacks outrebounded the Huskies, 19-13, in the opening frame – 11 of which were offensive – and led to a 13-3 advantage on second-chance points.
 
Strickland opened the second half with a drive to the hole for a layup to get the Huskies within two, but Henderson answered with a corner three. Jefferson hit a pull-up jumper, then Matthew responded with a three to put the Lady Jacks ahead, 47-41.
 
After Neal punishing a Henderson layup with a blocked shot, Arthur took the loose ball, pushed it up the floor and found Jefferson in the corner for a three to once again make it a two-point game. Jefferson made a steal then was rewarded on the other end, burying another triple to give the Huskies a 51-50 lead. Branch hit a three to put the Lady Jacks up by two, then Neal hit the second of two foul shots to make the score, 53-52, with 13:19 to go.
 
Branch made another three, then Jefferson answered with one of her own, made a steal and pulled up on the fast break for a three to put HBU in front, 58-56. A putback by Branch tied it up, but McGarrachan slipped free inside for a layup. Branch regained the lead for SFA with a three, but Neal answered for HBU. Roberts and Arthur traded layups, then a Branch three and a layup by Victoria Pena put the Lady Jacks ahead, 68-64, with just under eight minutes left.
 
McGarrachan made one-of-two free throws, Arthur came up with a steal and took the distance and Neal did the same and coverted a three-point play as the Huskies went up, 70-68, with 6:16 remaining. Ross sank a pair of free throws to knot it back up, but a teardrop floater in the lane by Jefferson kept HBU up by two.
 
Ross made two more free throws to tie, then missed a pair with 4:02 on the clock. Arthur knocked down two free throws with 3:46 to go, then McGarrachan blocked a Ross layup and nailed a 15-footer to put HBU up by four. Roberts made four-straight free throws to tie the game, 76-76, with 2:07 left, and Arthur missed the front end of a one-and one with 1:46 on the clock.
 
McGarrachan found Strickland with an over-top-lob for a layup, Neal blocked a layup by Ross and Arthur finished the fast break with a kiss off the glass to put the Huskies up by four with 41 seconds left. Henderson hit a three five seconds later to cut the Huskies lead to one and SFA quickly fouled Neal. Neal then stepped up and knocked down both for an 82-79 lead. Matthew drove into the paint and hit a jumper off the glass with 15 seconds left, but Sihvola made two free throws, Ross turned it over and Sihvola hit two more and Jefferson sank a pair for the Huskies' seven-point margin.
 
HBU recorded the first victory by an eight seed over a one seed in the current double-bye format, the third overall, and will be the first No. 8 seed to appear in the tournament's championship game.