HOUSTON – Junior guard
Amanda Johnson shot for her fourth 20-point game this season, as the HBU women's basketball fell to Stephen F. Austin, 76-54, in Southland Conference women's basketball Wednesday night at Sharp Gym.
Johnson led all scorers, shooting 52.9 percent from the field with 20 points and six boards for the Huskies (6-14, 2-8 SLC). Sophomore forward
Lauren Calver shot 57.1 percent from the field and put up nine points, brought down five rebounds, had two assists and two steals. Sophomore guard
Sydney Carr contributed eight points and five rebounds, while freshman guard
Megan Valdez-Crader added seven points, three boards, two assists and one steal.
Stephen F. Austin (17-3, 9-0 SLC) had four players in double-figure scoring. Stevi Parker led the bunch with a double-double. She had 19 points, 14 boards, two assists and two steals. Chanell Hayes produced 14 points, five rebounds and five steals. Imani Jackson and Lovisa Brunnberg each had 11 points and two rebounds.
SFA shot 41.0 percent from the floor, 10-of-27 from the 3-point range and 16-of-23 from the free-throw line. HBU shot 39.6 percent from the floor, 1-of-11 from behind the arc and 11-of-17 from behind the line. HBU outrebounded SFA 38-36 and out-shot in the paint 20-25.
The Huskies trailed 13-11 early in the first quarter, after buckets from junior center
Kennedy Collins, Carr, Johnson and Calver. The Ladyjacks put up the next eight points, before Carr ended their run with a jumper. HBU started the second quarter with an eight-point run thanks to shots by Johnson, Calver and Collins to make it a one-point game. The Ladyjacks ended their run with a bucket from the 3-point range, Valdez-Crader responded with a layup. SFA sent Carr to the stripe for two, which began an eight-point run for the Ladyjacks. Johnson was able to cut their nine-point lead short with a bucket to end the half.
The Ladyjacks sparked a 21-6 run to lead by 22 late in second half. All six of the Huskies' points came from buckets by Johnson. Junior Center
Veronika Kirienko chimed in with two, before SFA scored the next seven out of nine points. Early in the fourth quarter, the Ladyjacks scored back-to-back 3-pointers, but Johnson, Valdez-Crader, Calver and sophomore guard
Shannon Jones supplied a nine-point run. The final four points for the Huskies came from Johnson, producing a total of 12 points in the second half.
The Huskies will have a weekend off, before visiting Central Arkansas Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. and Nicholls Saturday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. HBU will return home to host Northwestern State on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. and Sam Houston State on Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.
