Game Notes
                                                                  
HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team will close out a three-game road swing on Saturday, when it faces Nicholls State in a 12 p.m. Southland Conference contest at Stopher Gymnasium.
 
The game between the Lady Lions (9-12, 2-8 Southland) and the host Lady Colonels (13-8, 5-5 Southland) will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and LionSports.net. LionVision subscribers will also be able to access the Nicholls' live video feed.
 
The next stretch of games is crucial for Southeastern, which lost 90-48 last Saturday at Oral Roberts. The Lady Lions currently sit in ninth in the Southland standings with the top eight teams earning a spot in next month's Southland Conference Tournament. However, the next three games will see Southeastern taking on the three teams occupying the spots directly above the Lady Lions in the league ledger.
 
In the loss to Oral Roberts, Southeastern could not overcome an early 25-2 hole. Junior guard Jameika Hoskins led the Lady Lions with 11 points, while freshman forward Nanna Pool came off the bench with a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Southeastern is averaging 62.7 points per game heading into Saturday's contest. Junior forward Aja Gibson leads the team with 11.0 points per game and is joined in double figures by senior forward Brandi Simmons (10.3 ppg). Sophomore guard Elizabeth Styles (8.6 ppg), Hoskins (8.5 ppg), Pool (7.8 ppg) and sophomore guard Symone Miller (7.0 ppg) are the other top scorers for Southeastern. Styles also leads the team and ranks third in the Southland with 4.4 assists per game.
 
The Lady Lions are connecting on 39.9 percent of their field goal attempts and feature three of the most accurate shooters in the league in Pool (51.1 field goal percentage), Simmons (50.9) and Gibson (45.2). Styles ranks fifth in the Southeastern with a team-best 81.3 free throw percentage.
 
The Lady Lions have out-rebounded opponents by just under three boards per contest. Simmons is third in the Southland with 8.8 rebounds per game, while Pool (5.7 rpg), Gibson (4.5 rpg) and Pool (4.4 rpg) are the other top rebounders for the Lady Lions.
 
Opponents are scoring 70.1 points and committing 18.0 turnovers per contest versus the Lady Lions. Hoskins leads the team with 24 steals, followed by Styles and Simmons with 23 each. Simmons has also blocked a team-high 10 shots.
 
Nicholls State comes into Saturday's contest riding a high after a 68-62 win at defending Southland regular season champion Central Arkansas last Saturday. Junior guard KK Babin paced Nicholls to the win with 32 points and six assists. Junior forward LiAnn McCarthy and freshman guard Emani White chipped in 10 points each.
 
Nicholls is shooting 42.7 percent from the floor as a team and scoring 65.4 points per contest. Senior forward Alisha Allen leads NSU with 14.9 points per game and is joined in double figures by Babin (13.0 ppg). Babin also leads the team with 4.8 assists per game and 38 three-point field goals. McCarthy is just short of averaging double digits with 9.0 points per game, while sophomore guard Jenny Nash has connected on 33 three-point field goals.
 
The Lady Colonels are averaging 34.2 rebounds per game and is being out-rebounded by opponents by an average of 2.7 rebounds per contest. Allen and junior forward Jasmine Scott share the team lead with 5.9 rebounds per game.
 
Opponents are scoring 64.3 points and committing 20.2 turnovers per outing versus Nicholls State. Nash and Scott lead the team with 2.0 steals per game, while Allen is averaging 1.0 blocked shot per contest.
 
Southeastern leads the all-time series between the two teams, 55-15. Back on Jan. 12 in Hammond, Nicholls State picked up a 71-65 win. The Lady Lions had come back from an 11-point deficit, but two long threes in the final minute by Babin secured the victory. Allen (18 points), McCarthy (15), Babin (14) and Scott (13) all hit double figures in the win for NSU. Styles dished out a University Center-record 14 assists in the loss for the Lady Lions, while Simmons contributed a team-high 15 points.
 
Following Saturday's game, Southeastern will return to action on Thursday, hosting Northwestern State at 5:15 p.m. in the University Center. The game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and LionSports.net, where live stats and video will be available. The game will also air on tape delay on the Southeastern Channel (Charter Channel 18). Miller will be Thursday's Spotlight Player of the Game and fans will receive a trading card featuring the Gonzales native courtesy of PRIDE.