Photo by John Schreiber, The Daily Campus. SMU’s Janielle Dodds (left) collides with SFA’s Whitney Cormier (right) while trying to get to the ball during the first half of yesterday evening’s game at Moody.

The Mustangs extended their winning streak to five games with a 66-60 victory over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks last night. The Mustangs came out strong within the first minute, allowing the Jacks to gain their only lead of the first half with the first shot of the game by Antoinette Davis.

The Mustangs quickly turned the game in their favor, averaging 42.9 percent of their field goals, and 50 percent in three-pointers and shots taken from the line. SFA struggled, hitting only 25 percent of its field goals in the first five minutes of play.

Senior Janielle Dodds posted a double double in the first half, after shooting for 11 points and 10 rebounds.

With Dodds racking up 17 more points against SFA, she is now in third place in total points after passing Shanell Thomas. Dodds needs only 21 points to rise to the second place spot, currently held by Kerri Delaney with 1,503 points.

“It’s a goal I have, so it’s something I hope to break. It’s definitely something I look forward to doing,” explained Dodds. Head coach Rhonda Rompola went so far as to say, “When Janielle’s scoring, we’re a better team.”

Sophomore guard Jillian Samuels also had a successful first half with nine points, and held the team-high with two steals in the first half.

The Lumberjacks did, however, impress the Mustangs with 11 offensive and 16 defensive rebounds, compared to SMU’s eight and 13 respectively. SFA’s Natashia Green led her team with 12 points, while teammate Davis racked in six rebounds.

Gaining an impressive and game-high 11 game lead nine minutes in the first half, SMU managed to hold on to their lead till the halftime buzzer. The Mustangs went into the locker room with a four-point lead, making the score 32-28. SMU averaged 36.4 percent in field goals, 23.1 percent in three-pointers and shot 50 percent from the line.

SMU came out a little sloppy in the second half but managed to hold onto its lead until about eight minutes in, when a free throw shot by Davis tied the game at 37. SFA went on to take the lead with a jumper by the team’s leading scorer, Nikki Carr, putting her team up 40-38 against the Mustangs.

“We started getting a little scared with the score getting so close, that we started to realize we had to show up,” said Dodds.

The Mustangs struggled to regain their lead, but as the gap widened, the Mustangs missed more shots. It wasn’t until a steal from senior guard Sharee Shepherd came with just over five minutes left which led to a trip to the line for sophomore forward Delisha Wills that SMU tied the game back up at 47. Wills ended her night as the game’s leading scorer with 18 points.

The score went back and forth between the teams as the seconds flew by, with SMU gaining the lead numerous times, only to have SFA tie it up with the help of Carr and Decreasha Goodner.

The Mustangs gained their final lead of the game with two minutes left when Wills hit a jump shot to put the Mustangs up 57-55.

With just a minute left, SMU rallied for the win with Wills making two more shots from the line, and an offensive rebound resulting in two points from Samuels. Senior guard Katy Cobb put the game away for her team with just seven seconds left after sinking two final free throws.

SMU averaged 40.4 percent of its field goals overall, and 61.5 percent of their free throws, but were only 21.1 in three-pointers. The Mustangs struggled in rebounds, posting 40 total, compared to the Ladyjacks 51. SFA was 29 percent in field goals, 17.6 percent in three-pointers and 73.9 percent from the line.

“I really thought they outplayed us,” explained Rompola. “What hurt us today was our free throw shooting and our lack of scoring from our bench. I was trying to give our starters a little bit of a rest, and when we subbed in that second team, they just didn’t get it done.”

The Mustangs improved to 5-1, while SFA fell to 1-4. SMU will play again Saturday against North Texas in Denton at 2 p.m.