HAMMOND - Dacia McGowan scored eight points in a 16-2 run by Southeastern to close out the game, capping the rally with a go-ahead basket with 25 seconds left, as the Lady Lions earned a thrilling 73-72 win over Stephen F. Austin in Southland Conference action Saturday afternoon in the University Center.
Southeastern (9-11, 3-6 SLC) snapped a three-game losing streak with the win. The Southeastern victory also stopped the Lady Lions' 18-game losing streak versus Stephen F. Austin (10-9, 4-4 SLC) - a streak that dated back to the 1985-86 season.
McGowan led four Lady Lions in double figures, finishing with 23 points, a career-high tying seven steals, six rebounds and four assists. Nakeya Downing finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals, while Brooke Necaise added 13 points and Cara Porter finished with 11 points. Southeastern point guard Jenny Brown finished with seven assists and only two turnovers.
SFA's Latoya Mills scored 19 points to lead the Ladyjacks and finished with a game-high nine rebounds. Kirby Killingsworth added 18 points, while Ladyjack Britany Vinson scored 12 points and added eight assists.
SFA dominated the first 15 minutes of the second half, as they led by as many as 13 in the final period, after trailing 34-32 at halftime. With 3:17 remaining, Zedralyn Butler hit a bucket to give the Ladyjacks a seemingly insurmountable 70-57 lead.
Downing started the Southeastern rally by converting a three-point play with 2:55 remaining to cut the Ladyjack advantage to 10. After a SFA turnover, McGowan drew a foul and hit one of two free throw attempts. McGowan stole the ensuing in-bounds pass, laying it up and in to cut the lead to 70-63 with 2:30 left.
Downing grabbed a steal on the next SFA possession and Necaise drained a three-pointer to pull the Lady Lions within four, 70-66, with 1:35 left. After Mills came down and hit two free throws for SFA, the Ladyjacks would not score again.
On the next possession, Porter took a feed from Taryn Achord and pulled Southeastern back within four with 1:04 left. After Killingsworth missed both free throws for SFA, McGowan came down and drilled a three-pointer to cut the SFA lead to 72-71 with 42 seconds remaining.
On the next trip down for SFA, Alex Bowman missed both free throws for the Ladyjacks. McGowan grabbed the rebound and streaked straight to the basket, laying it in to give Southeastern its first lead, 73-72 with 22 seconds remaining.
SFA had one final chance, as Killingsworth launched a three in the waning seconds. It missed off the back iron, but Mills grabbed the offensive rebound. Her last-second putback was short and Necaise corralled the rebound to secure the victory.
SFA shot a blistering 50.9 percent (27-for-53) from the field, but Southeastern was able to take advantage of 22 Ladyjack turnovers, as the Lady Lions scored 30 points off SFA miscues. Southeastern shot 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the floor and committed 14 turnovers, including just five in the second half. Southeastern is 7-1 this season in games where the team field-goal percentage is over 40 percent.
Southeastern will return to action on Thursday, when they hit the road for a Southland Conference showdown with Louisiana-Monroe at 5:30 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana 73, Stephen F. Austin 72
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (10-9, 4-4 SLC)
Mills 7-12 5-6 19; Szymanski 3-4 1-1 7; Bowman 1-3 0-2 2; Vinson 5-11 0-0 12; Killingsworth 6-13 3-6 18; Green 2-4 0-0 4; Simpson 0-1 0-0 0; Butler 3-3 0-1 6; Edwards 0-0 0-0 0; Smith 0-2 4-4 4. Totals 27-53 13-20 72.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (9-11, 3-6 SLC)
Achord 1-4 0-0 2; Downing 5-10 7-7 17; McGowan 9-20 3-5 23; Necaise 5-12 0-0 13; Brown 1-5 0-0 2; Watson 0-1 0-0 0; Cawthon 2-6 1-2 5; Porter 3-4 5-5 11; Prewitt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-63 16-19 73.
Halftime Score - Southeastern 34, SFA 32. 3-point goals - SFA 5-14 (Killingsworth 3-8; Vinson 2-5; Bowman 0-1), SLU 5-16 (Necaise 3-8; McGowan 2-5; Achord 0-2; Brown 0-1). Fouled out - SFA-None, SLU-Downing. Rebounds - SFA 35 (Mills 9), SLU 34 (Downing 7). Assists - SFA 19 (Vinson 8), SLU 15 (Brown 7). Total Fouls - SFA 16, SLU 15. A-320.
