HAMMOND - The Southeastern women's basketball team returns to action for the first time in more than a week, when they host non-conference foe Texas Southern on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the University Center.
Southeastern (3-4) comes into the game on a three-game losing streak. After tough road losses at South Florida and Mississippi State, the Lady Lions dropped their first home game of the season, 59-52, to Cal State-Northridge on Dec. 20 in the University Center.
In the contest with the Lady Matadors, senior guard Dacia McGowan led all scorers with 12 points. Freshman Brooke Necaise came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points, hitting 3 of 5 from three-point range. Senior forward Nakeya Downing put together her usual solid performance, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Lady Lions have had a potent inside-outside combination both in the starting lineup. McGowan leads the team with a 14.7 per game scoring average and leads the Southland Conference with 2.3 three-point field goals per game. Downing is second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and leads the squad in rebounding (9.9 per game), steals (2.6) and field goal percentage (42.7), ranking among the SLC leaders in each category.
Off the bench, Necaise and Cara Porter have both been steady contributors. Necaise, a native of Kiln, Miss., is third on the team with a 6.0 ppg average, while Porter, a redshirt freshman our of Baton Rouge, is averaging 5.3 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game, while averaging under 17 minutes per game. Porter's rebounding total ranks in the top 10 in the SLC. Necaise is slated to make the second start of her collegiate career against TSU.
Texas Southern (0-8) comes to Hammond searching for its first win of 2004-05. In their last outing, TSU dropped a 55-39 decision at Oklahoma State. Southeastern will be the second SLC opponent Texas Southern has faced this season, as they lost at Texas-San Antonio, 41-33, on Dec. 12.
Jennifer Hickmon leads the team with an 11.4 per game scoring average, followed closely by Monica Okolo, who averages 10.9 per contest. Hickmon did not play at Oklahoma State and her availability is unknown for Tuesday's game. Victoria Jones is the top rebounder for TSU, averaging 9.3 boards per outing.
Tuesday's game will be the 11th all-time meeting between Southeastern and Texas Southern, with the series knotted at five games apiece. TSU won the last meeting between the two schools, defeating Southeastern, 64-63, during the 1998-99 season. Tuesday's game will be the Lady Lions' first against a Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent since 1999-2000, when Southeastern came out on the short end of a 72-71 decision at Southern.
Tuesday's game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM and on the internet at www.LionSports.net, where live game stats will also be available.
