STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team dropped a 97-36 decision to No. 23/25 Mississippi State in non-conference action Sunday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum.
 
For the second straight game, Southeastern (3-5) played well in the first half before things went south in the second half. Mississippi State (8-0) outscored SLU, 52-11, in the final 20 minutes to pull away.
 
Senior guard Elizabeth Styles led Southeastern with nine points, while senior guard Symone Miller added seven points. MSU held Southeastern to 28.0 percent (14-for-50) shooting from the field. Junior guard Peaches Anderson led SLU with two assists.
 
Junior forward Nanna Pool led Southeastern with nine rebounds, though MSU finished with a 69-30 rebounding advantage. Pool also blocked a career-high five shots in the loss.
 
Victoria Vivians (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Martha Alwal (15 points, 11 rebounds) each posted double-doubles for the Bulldogs. The duo was joined in double figures by Morgan William (12 points) and LaKaris Salter (10 points). Jerica James led MSU with seven assists and all 13 Bulldogs who played scored.
 
Southeastern played MSU evenly for much of the first half. A basket by senior forward Jameika Hoskins pulled the Lady Lions within 14-13 with 14:03 left in the opening half.
Mississippi State would gradually pull away, finishing the half with a 12-3 run to take a 45-25 lead into the break.
 
Any chance of Southeastern making a game of it was ended early in the second half. MSU scored the first 14 points of the half and eventually grew the second half advantage to as much as 64 points.
 
Southeastern will take a week off to all the student-athletes to concentrate on final exams. The Lady Lions will be back in action on Sunday, facing LSU at 2 p.m. in Baton Rouge. Sunday's game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net.