Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Southeastern Louisiana University Athletics

The Official Website of Southeastern Louisiana University Athletics
Classroom. Community. Competition.
ESPON Plus Logo
Cierra Morris
Randy Bergeron / Southeastern Louisiana University

Women's Basketball

Lady Lions Head to ORU

Southeastern looks for third straight victory on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Game Notes
                                                                    
TULSA, Okla. – The Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday, facing new Southland Conference member Oral Roberts at 5 p.m. in the Mabee Center.
 
The game between Lady Lions (9-11, 2-7 Southland) and host ORU (9-10, 6-3 Southland) will be the opener of doubleheader action, as the men's teams will meet at 7:30 p.m. All the action will be broadcast on KSLU-FM (90.9) and at LionSports.net.
 
Southeastern will be looking for its third straight victory after Thursday's 70-64 victory at Central Arkansas. The Lady Lions forced the defending league regular season champion Sugar Bears into 21 turnovers, scoring 24 points off the UCA miscues.
 
In the victory, senior forward Brandi Simmons led the way with her team-high eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Simmons was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Elizabeth Styles (16 points), freshman forward Nanna Pool (12 points) and sophomore guard Symone Miller (10 points).
 
Styles, who scored six of the Lady Lions' final eight points, and junior guard Jameika Hoskins shared team-high honors with four assists apiece. Senior guard Cierra Morris keyed the Lady Lion defensive effort with four steals to go with her six points and six rebounds.
 
The 70 points Southeastern scored on Thursday were nearly 19 points more than UCA – the top scoring defense in the Southland – averaged allowing per game heading into the contest. Junior forward Aja Gibson (11.1 ppg, 14th), Simmons (10.5 ppg, 15th), Styles (8.7 ppg, 22nd) and Hoskins (8.4 ppg, 24th) rank among the league's top scorers for a Lady Lion team that is averaging 63.4 points per game. Pool (7.8 ppg) and Miller (7.3 ppg) are the other top producers, while Styles is third in the Southland with 4.5 assists per game.
 
The Lady Lions are fourth in the league with a 40.5 field goal percentage. The post trio of Pool (52.8, 5th), Simmons (50.9, 7th) and Gibson (46.3, 10th) are among the league's most accurate shooters. Styles is the team's top free throw shooter, ranking fourth in the Southland with a 81.7 percent success rate from the charity stripe.
 
Central Arkansas held a slight 37-35 rebounding advantage on Thursday, however the Lady Lions have been consistently strong on the boards with a plus-3.3 rebounding margin. Simmons sits in third in the Southland with 9.1 rebounds per game, while Pool's 5.5 per game average is good for 18th.
 
Southeastern is still at the bottom of the league in scoring defense with opponents scoring 69.2 points per game, while forcing 18.1 turnovers per contest. Simmons, Hoskins and Morris share the team lead with 22 steals each, while Simmons has blocked a team-high 10 shots.
 
Oral Roberts sits in a four-way tie for second place with McNeese State, Central Arkansas and Lamar in the Southland Conference standings and a game and a half behind league leader Sam Houston State. ORU dismantled Nicholls State, 84-56, on Thursday night. The Golden Eagles forced 31 NSU turnovers. Senior guard Kevi Luper (22 points, 10 rebounds) and junior center Sarah Shelton (14 points, 10 rebounds) each posted double-doubles, while senior guard Jaci Bigham (20 points) and freshman forward Taylor Cooper (12 points) gave ORU a quartet in double figures.
 
Oral Roberts is second in the league with 67.3 points per game. Luper is fourth in the league with 17.7 points per game, while Bigham (11.8 ppg), Cooper (9.8 ppg) and Shelton (9.4 ppg) all rank in the Southland top 20. Bigham leads the league by a wide margin with 7.0 assists per contest.
 
ORU enters Saturday's contest leading the Southland with a 43.5 field goal percentage and a 35.9 three-point field goal percentage. Shelton is the most accurate shooter in the league, having connected on 69.2 percent of her attempts from the floor. Junior wing Christian Key is the league's most accurate shooter from behind the arc, netting 45.8 percent of her three-point field goal attempts. Luper is sixth in the league with an 80.0 percent success rate from the free throw line.
 
The Golden Eagles are averaging 35.4 rebounds per contest and opponents are out-rebounding ORU by an average of 2.5 rebounds per outing. Shelton leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game.
 
Opponents are scoring 63.4 points per game against Oral Roberts. Luper and Bigham are both in the top three in the Southland with 2.3 steals per game. Shelton (17, 7th), Luper (16, 10th) and Cooper (12, 12th) are among the league leaders in blocked shots.
 
Southeastern lost its first-ever meeting with Oral Roberts, 81-62, in Hammond on Jan. 3. The Golden Eagles shot 54.7 percent from the floor in the victory, as Shelton and Luper netted 18 points each, while Bigham finished with 14 points and 11 assists. Gibson (12 points), Hoskins (12 points), Pool (11 points), Styles (10 points) and Morris (10 points) all scored in double figures for the Lady Lions in the loss.
 
After Saturday's contest, Southeastern will head to Nicholls for a 12 p.m. contest on Saturday, Feb. 9 in Thibodaux. The game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and LionSports.net.
Print Friendly Version