HAMMOND, La. – Senior guard KaeLynn Boyd scored a team-high 22 points in her Lady Lion debut but Southeastern Louisiana could not overcome a big-rebounding night in a 79-72 loss to the Lady Tigers Thursday night in the University Center.

Jackson State (5-4) out-rebounded Southeastern 52-34, allowing the Lady Tigers to take 72 shots. Jackson State took advantage of the second chances to out-score the Lady Lions 28-15 in the fourth quarter to overcome a 57-51 deficit.

Boyd, who sat out the first semester after transferring from Texas-Pan American, went 5-of-15 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line. She also led the Lady Lions (1-8) with eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals.

Taylin Underwood added 18 points and six rebounds while Nanna Pool had 14 points and four boards.

Derica Wiggins came off the bench to score a game-high 27 points for Jackson State. She also had seven rebounds. Nyahok Bile also had 13 points and eight rebounds as the Lady Tiger reserves scored 52 points. Tiara Pollnitz contributed 12 points while Kierra Adams tied Bile for the team lead with eight rebounds.

There were seven lead changes and six ties in the game with each team leading for nearly the same amount of time. But it was Jackson State that took the most important lead at 65-63 on a 3-pointer by Wiggins with 4:37 remaining. Pool hit a jumper to make it 67-65 with 3:32 left but a jumper by Krystal Nailer helped the Lady Tigers go up 70-65 with 52 seconds remaining.

Pool hit another jumper to pull Southeastern to within 70-67 with 43 seconds left. But Bile beat the Lady Lions down the court for a layup and was fouled by Pool, adding the free throw for a six-point lead with 38 seconds left. Underwood countered with a 3 but Wiggins again got behind the defense on the inbounds to make it 75-70 with 28 seconds left. She added two free throws with 22 seconds remaining after a missed jumper by Anderson.

Southeastern used an 11-0 run to close the third quarter to take a 57-51 lead. Dani Fielder opened the surge with a jumper with 2:06 left and Boyd hit a pair of 3s in the final minute. A Gabriella Delaune jumper from the left side gave the Lady Lions a 61-56 lead with 7:39 remaining in the game.

There were five ties in the first quarter. Southeastern took a 10-6 lead on a 3 by Anderson at the 6:11 mark. Pollnitz answered with a pair of 3s to give Jackson State its first lead at 12-10 with 5:30 left. Underwood knocked down a 3 to put the Lady Lions up 20-17 with 54 seconds left, then buried another one with 2 seconds remaining to make it 25-20 going into the second quarter.

Southeastern took its biggest lead of the game at 28-20 on a 3 by Underwood with 9:15 left in the half. But a layup by Adams started a 15-4 run for Jackson State. Pollnitz hit a jumper to regain the lead for the Lady Tigers at 33-32 with 3:32 left. Wiggins scored off a steal to extend the lead to six with 24 seconds left before Boyd hit a 3 with 4 seconds left to pull Southeastern to within 40-37 at the half.

Southeastern returns to action Monday against Troy at 7 p.m. in the University Center. Bre Warren will be the Spotlight Player of the Game with the first 100 fans receiving cards of the sophomore guard courtesy of PRIDE.