The Mustangs will host the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks tonight at Moody Coliseum.
The Mustangs take on the cross-town rivals after coming off a 68-56 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks, as well as an 86-61 victory over the Bulldogs from Western Michigan as part of the SMU Hoops for the Cure tournament.
Head coach Rhonda Rompola explained, “The more they win, the bigger the target gets, and the better teams we’re going to play. Building and working on their confidence is what we’re trying to do.”
The Lumberjacks are currently 1-3, with their last game resulting in a loss against Nevada last week. The Jacks were scheduled to take on Cal State Fullerton as part of the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic, but the game was cancelled because of a power outage.
SFA is coming off its second consecutive 20-win season, as well as a trip to the 2007 Women’s National Invitation Tournament that resulted in a first round loss to Southern Illinois last season.
The Jacks are also considered one of the all-time top 10 teams in the nation with 794 wins to go with their .728 winning percentage.
“We’ve played a lot of teams that pressure us, but SFA has lost a couple of players, and their roster is down a little bit, and because of that I anticipate more zone,” explained Rompola. “I anticipate that with the numbers Janielle put up this weekend, and as well as Delisha, they are going to look to pack it in and make our players shoot from the outside.”
Two members of SFA’s roster were named to the preseason All-Southland Conference team. Senior guard Nikki Carr returns to the court as the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, and was a first-team selection for the conference team. Carr is currently the seventh highest scorer in her school’s history, and is also on track to graduate as one of the school’s all-time leaders in assists and steals.
Teammate sophomore Whitney Cormier received second-team honors after being named one of the top freshmen in the team’s league after averaging 7.7 points per game and 3.5 rebounds.
“When they pressure, they trap, they get after it. They are very scrappy. Teams that are scrappy and run the ball like they do always pose a threat,” said Rompola.
Senior guard Janielle Dodds, Conference USA Player of the Week, will also strive to get closer to breaking the school record for most points scored. Dodds passed Shasta Smothers-Johnson to move up to fifth place on all-time career points scored, and quickly rolled over Kim Brandl in the Kansas game to hold the fourth place spot.
Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.
