NATCHITOCHES, La. – Northwestern State outscored Southeastern Louisiana, 43-22, in the second half on the way to a 71-60 victory over the Lady Lions in Southland Conference women's basketball action Thursday night at Prather Coliseum.
 
Southeastern (7-19, 3-12 Southland) led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but went cold in the second half, making just 17.5 percent (7-for-40) from the floor. Northwestern State improved to 15-12 overall and 10-6 in league action with the comeback victory.
 
The loss was the seventh straight for SLU, who are two games out of eighth place with three games remaining in the regular season. The top eight teams will advance to the Southland Conference Tournament, which is scheduled for March 12-15 at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
 
Southeastern's top three scorers came off the bench in Thursday's loss. Senior forward Annessa De La Cruz netted five of seven threes on the way to a season-high 16 points, while junior forward Nanna Pool and freshman guard Taylin Underwood chipped in with 14 points apiece. Senior guard Elizabeth Styles led SLU with eight assists, while senior forward Jameika Hoskins led the Lady Lions with eight rebounds.
 
NSU junior guard Janelle Perez posted a double-double with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore wing Beatrice Attura chipped in 21 points off the bench. Senior forward Presley Owens added 13 points for the Lady Demons, who also got 11 rebounds from senior guard Chelsea Rogers.
 
Southeastern was held scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, before getting hot and ripping off a 14-0 run and taking a 14-2 lead. SLU would grow the lead to as much as 17 in the first half and went into the break leading 38-28.
 
Northwestern State clamped down on defense after the break, scoring the first eight points of the final period and holding SLU scoreless for nearly six minutes to open the half. Northwestern State took a 43-42 lead on a layup by Attura and maintained the lead for the remainder of the game.
 
Southeastern cut the NSU lead to four on a jumper by Pool with 3:36 left, but the Lady Demons closed the game on a 10-3 run to drop SLU to 0-13 this season on the road.
 
Following Thursday's game, Southeastern will head to Conway, Arkansas to face Central Arkansas at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net, where live stats and video provided by UCA will also be accessible.