Box Score

HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana freshman guard Erica Burgess hit a buzzer beater to force overtime and the Lady Lions closed the extra period with an 8-0 run to defeat Louisiana-Lafayette, 62-58, in non-conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon in the University Center.

The Lady Lions improved to 3-5 overall with the win. Louisiana-Lafayette's record dropped to 2-5.

Southeastern overcame a sluggish first half that saw it have a 12:24 scoreless stretch and fall behind 25-16 at the break. The Lady Lions then overcame a four-point deficit with 14.9 seconds left in regulation and a four-point ULL lead early in overtime.

“We showed some toughness in the second half and overtime,” Southeastern head coach Lori Davis Jones commented. “We played soft in the first half, but we responded well after halftime. Our effort allowed us to be in the position to make some big plays down the stretch.”

Southeastern sophomore guard Kelli Jenkins led the Lady Lions with a career-high 18 points, while junior forward Rashima Jenkins added 11 points. The Lady Lions held a 48-44 rebounding edge, as senior wing Quantae Thomas pulled down a career-high 12 boards and senior post Zevy Ivory grabbed eight rebounds. Junior guard Chelsea Hix led the Lady Lions with three steals, as they forced 23 ULL turnovers.

ULL's Jasmine Barnes poured in a game-high 23 points, while Jamie Gunter and Lyndra Bell gave the Ragin' Cajuns a trio in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Bell also led ULL with nine rebounds. ULL forced the Lady Lions into 29 turnovers and Gunter paced the defensive efforts with four steals.

A pair of free throw shots by Barnes put ULL up by six with 49 seconds remaining in regulation. On the Lady Lions' next possession, Thomas missed a three and Bell ripped down the rebound. Kelli Jenkins came up with a steal and hit a jumper, however, pulling the Lady Lions within four with 14.9 seconds remaining.

After a Lady Lion foul, Gunter missed both free throws. Burgess pushed the ball quickly down the court and found an open Kelli Jenkins in the left corner. Jenkins' three cut the lead to one with 3.9 seconds left.
Barnes then went to the line, where she hit one of two to push the lead back to two. After a Cajun timeout, Thomas launched a pass from the far baseline that Burgess grabbed just past midcourt. The speedy Memphis native then took off and dropped in a layup at the buzzer.

ULL once again took control early in overtime, as Bell gave the Cajuns a 58-54 lead with 3:32 left. Kelli Jenkins answered for Southeastern, beating Barnes to the bucket and cutting the lead to 58-57 with a three-point play with three minutes left.

The two teams traded empty possessions until Southeastern took the lead for good with just over a minute remaining. Burgess penetrated the lane, drew a help defender and found a wide open Rashima Jenkins for the go-ahead bucket with 1:09 remaining.

From there, Southeastern turned up the defensive intensity and Ivory pulled down two key defensive rebounds and made two free throws to put the Lady Lions up, 61-58, with 19 seconds remaining.

ULL had one last try, but Barnes' three-point try was off the mark and Hix ran down the rebound. The junior guard took a hard shot, but knocked down one of two free throws to ice the game and provide the final margin.

Southeastern and Louisiana-Lafayette will complete their home-and-home series on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 5 p.m. in the Cajun Dome. Saturday's game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net.