Game Notes
                                                                   
HAMMOND  – The Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team will return home to open Southland Conference play on Thursday, welcoming new league member Oral Roberts for a 5:15 p.m. contest in the University Center.
 
The game between the Lady Lions (7-4) and the visiting Golden Eagles (3-7) will open a doubleheader, as the two schools' men's teams will meet at 7:15 p.m. All of the day's action will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at LionSports.net, where live video and live stats will also be available.
 
Thursday will also be Take a Kid to the Game Day, as fans aged 12 and under will receive free admission. Freshman forward Nanna Pool will be the Spotlight Player of the Game and trading cards featuring the Magnolia, Miss. native will be distributed as available, courtesy of the Southeastern PRIDE.
 
Southeastern closed out non-conference play with a 106-41 loss at defending national champion and current No. 3 Baylor. Southeastern senior forward Brandi Simmons led the Lady Lions with 12 points in the loss, but Baylor shot 60 percent from the floor and forced Southeastern into 25 turnovers.
 
Despite offensive struggles in its last three games, Southeastern is third in the Southland Conference with 68.2 points per game. Junior forward Aja Gibson (11.5 ppg, 12^th) and Simmons (11.0 ppg, 15^th) rank among the Southland Conference scoring leaders. Sophomore guard Elizabeth Styles (8.6 ppg), sophomore guard Symone Miller (8.6 ppg), Pool (8.5 ppg) and junior guard Jameika Hoskins (8.4 ppg) are the other top scorers, while Styles is one of the league's top distributors, ranking eighth in the Southland with 3.7 assists per game.
 
Southeastern's offensive prowess is buoyed by several efficient individual performances. Pool (55.4, 2^nd), Simmons (51.6, 3^rd) and Gibson (47.2, 10^th) rank among the Southland leaders in field goal percentage. Miller continues to lead the Southland with a 53.8 three-point field goal percentage, while Styles (79.1, 8^th) and Gibson (68.6, 15^th) are among the league's most accurate free throw shooters.
 
Southeastern has also been effective on the boards and is second in the Southland with a plus-4.3 rebounding margin. Simmons is third in the league with 10.2 rebounds per game and is one of three players in the Southland averaging a double-double. Pool (5.5 rpg) and Gibson (5.2 rpg) have also been effective on the glass.
 
Opponents are scoring 70.6 points per game against Southeastern, which is forcing 19.1 turnovers per game. Styles leads the team with 16 steals, followed by Simmons (14), Hoskins (12), junior guard Taylor Mims (12) and senior guard Cierra Morris (10). Hoskins has blocked a team-high five shots.
 
Oral Roberts has lost four straight games heading into Southland Conference play. Last Friday, ORU dropped a 97-74 decision at DePaul. Senior guard Kevi Luper led three Golden Eagles in double figures with 17 points, but DePaul countered with a balanced effort that saw six players reach double figures.
 
ORU is scoring 66.5 points per game and features one of the most productive backcourts in Luper and senior guard Jaci Bigham. Luper is the Southland Conference leader with 21.5 points per game and a 93.5 free throw percentage, while Bigham has dished out a league-high 6.4 assists per game to go with her 9.5 points per contest. Sophomore forward Bernadett Balla (9.7 ppg) and freshman forward Taylor Cooper (8.4 ppg) are the other top scorers for ORU.
 
Oral Roberts is averaging 36.5 rebounds per game and comes into the Southland opener with a minus-1.6 rebounding margin. Senior forward Savanna Buck is sixth in the league with a team-high 7.0 rebounds per contest.
 
Opponents are scoring 69.2 points and committing 17.7 turnovers per game versus the Golden Eagles. Luper (2.4, 2^nd) and Bigham (2.3, 3^rd) sit among the league leaders in steals per game. Luper has also blocked a team-high eight shots.
 
Southeastern and Oral Roberts will be meeting for the first time ever on Thursday. The Lady Lions are 3-12 in league openers since joining the Southland Conference. Southeastern's last win in a league opener was a 64-53 victory over Lamar in 2008-09.
 
Thursday's game will be the first of three games in five days for the Lady Lions. Southeastern will return home on Saturday to host defending Southland Conference regular season champion Central Arkansas at 2 p.m. in the University Center. The game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at LionSports.net, where live video and stats will also be available. Hoskins will be Saturday's Spotlight Player of the Game and fans will receive trading cards featuring the Aberdeen, Miss. native as available, courtesy of the Southeastern PRIDE.