Game Notes

HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team will return to action on Friday, traveling to face Alabama in a 6:30 p.m. non-conference contest at Foster Auditorium.

The game between Southeastern (3-3) and the host Crimson Tide (5-2) will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net. Live stats will also be available at www.rolltide.com.

Southeastern will be looking to avoid its first back-to-back losses of the season. The Lady Lions could not shake off a sluggish start in Tuesday's 69-57 home loss to Louisiana-Lafayette.

In the loss, sophomore forward Aja Gibson scored a season-high 17 points and was joined in double figures by senior guard Kelli Jenkins, who chipped in 10 points. Junior forward Brandi Simmons added eight points, five assists and nine rebounds for the Lady Lions. Senior guard Latoria Holder shared the team rebounding lead with Simmons with nine boards to go with seven points and three assists.

Defensively, Southeastern forced Louisiana-Lafayette into 22 turnovers, as Jenkins and freshman guard Elizabeth Styles had two steals each. Sophomore forward Kaitlyn Waller and freshman forward Hillary Shaffer had one blocked shot each. However, the Lady Lions could not overcome 22 turnovers of their own and ULL's 65 percent shooting from the field in the second half, as the Ragin' Cajuns pulled away late.

Southeastern is averaging 63.2 points per game and shooting 41 percent from the floor this season. Gibson leads the team with 12.0 points per game and is joined in double figures by Jenkins (10.0 ppg). Simmons (7.3 ppg), Holder (6.2 ppg) and freshman guard Symone Miller (6.2 ppg) are the other top scorers for the Lady Lions.

The Lady Lions are averaging 12.5 assists per game. Jenkins leads the team with 3.5 assists per game, followed by Styles (2.3 apg) and Holder (2.0 apg). Jenkins' 338 career assists rank her sixth on the school's all-time list.

Southeastern is averaging 37.0 rebounds per outing, but has a minus-1.5 rebounding margin. Simmons leads the team with 7.2 rebounds per contest, followed by Gibson (5.5 rpg) and Holder (4.7 rpg).

The Lady Lions have held opponents to 61.7 points per game and are forcing opponents into 21.5 turnovers per outing. Holder leads the team with 2.0 steals per game, while Styles is averaging 1.8 steals per contest. Shaffer is the only Lady Lions with multiple blocked shots and leads the team with 1.3 blocked shots per game.

Alabama welcomes Southeastern to Tuscaloosa after winning two of three games at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam last weekend in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Tide closed out the tournament with a 67-59 win over Louisiana Tech last Saturday.

In the win, sophomore guard Jasmine Robinson led Alabama with 19 points, followed by senior guard Ericka Russell (12 points) and sophomore guard Khristin Lee (11 points). Junior forward Erin Hogue fell one point short of a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing a game-high 18 rebounds.

Alabama used a strong defensive effort in the victory, forcing 23 Lady Techster turnovers. Russell led the Tide with four steals, while junior guard Meghan Perkins and sophomore guard Shafontaye Myers had three steals each.

The Tide is averaging 66.9 points per game and features four players averaging in double figures. Russell leads the team with 14.0 points per game and is joined by Robinson (13.6 ppg), Perkins (11.3 ppg) and junior forward Kyra Crosby (10.0 ppg). Lee leads the team with 2.7 assists per game, followed closely by Robinson with 2.6 assists per contest.

Alabama is averaging 41.6 rebounds per contest and out-rebounding opponents by an average of 1.7 boards per outing. Hogue paces the squad with 8.3 rebounds per game. Crosby (6.5 rpg) and freshman forward Aneesha Daniels (6.0 rpg) have also been effective on the glass.

Holding opponents to 55.3 points per contest, Alabama is forcing 24.6 turnovers per game. Perkins leads the team with 2.4 steals per game and six blocked shots.

Southeastern is the fourth Southland Conference school to face Alabama this season. The Crimson Tide picked up home wins over Nicholls State and Northwestern State, but lost to Central Arkansas, 58-46, in a non-conference road contest.

Southeastern is 2-6 all-time versus Alabama. The last meeting was in 2009-10, with Alabama pulling out a 68-55 victory. The last win for the Lady Lions over Alabama came in the 1989-90 season, as a team that featured current Lady Lion head coach Lori Davis Jones upset the Crimson Tide, 62-61.

Following Friday's game, Southeastern will return home to host Spring Hill on Sunday at 3 p.m. Sunday's game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net, where live stats will also be available. Freshman forward Summer Postell is Sunday's Spotlight Player of the Game and the first 100 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Del Valle, Texas native courtesy of the Southeastern PRIDE.