Former Denison star shines at SFA

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KXII) - Former Denison basketball star Zya Nugent is making a huge impact at Stephen F Austin and was recently named Southland Conference player of the week.

Nugent scored 23 points against Texas Southern on her way to the weekly award. She is averaging almost 14 points a game for a LadyJacks team that went 8-2 in a tough non-conference schedule, including a win over Auburn on the road.

SFA started conference with a win on Saturday. Nugent is leading the way for a team that plans to contend for the conference title.

“Everything is going good. I’m not satisfied,” Nugent said. “I want to be better and improve every day. That was a small accomplishment. I think the bigger picture now is for us as a team moving forward is conference, and making the NCAA Tournament.”

“She’s still growing as a player,” SFA head coach Mark Kellog said. “This is what I thought she was capable of. She could lead us in scoring this year. I’ve told her that, I’ve told the team that. That wouldn’t surprise me one bit. The kid scored like a million points, over 2500, high school points. So she just has an ability and a knack for scoring the basketball.”

Nugent has stepped into her roll on a team that has talent at every position on the court and bench. She has been a key player in both the offensive and defensive side of the game plan. This week she was named the Southland Conference Player of the Week.

Here is the full release from the Southland.

Stephen F. Austin’s Zya Nugent is the Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. Southland Conference weekly honors are presented by Hercules Tires. Nugent pushed the Ladyjacks to an 8-2 record last week with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists in a 100-61 win at home against Texas Southern. She went 2-3 from beyond the arc and finished the game 9-12 from the field, improving her season field-goal percentage to a blistering 51 percent. The sophomore currently leads the Ladyjacks roster averaging 13.6 points and ranks second on the team with 27 assists through 10 games. The award marks the first of her Southland career. Nugent and the Ladyjacks are back in action on Saturday, January 2nd for their conference opener against New Orleans. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m. in Nacogdoches inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.

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