HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana junior guard
Taylin Underwood poured in a game-high 26 points, but an early hole was too much for the Lady Lion women's basketball to overcome in a 76-62 exhibition loss to Loyola (N.O.) Thursday night in the University Center.
The Lady Lions struggled early offensively and the Wolfpack, who returned 11 letter winners from last season's 23-8 squad, built a 20-point first-half lead before Southeastern came roaring back in the fourth quarter. However, SLU made only 24.3 percent (18-for-74) from the floor for the game and could get no closer than four down the stretch.
"The one thing I knew about this group is that they would keep playing hard, no matter the result," Southeastern head coach
Errol Gauff said. "I'm extremely proud of how we battled back and the effort. But, we've definitely got some work to do.
"We created some good opportunities on offense early, but we weren't able to finish some easy ones," Gauff added. "We want to play man-to-man as our base defense and they were able to penetrate and get the ball to (6-2 senior forward Meghan) Temple for one-on-one opportunities."
Underwood was one of two Lady Lions in double figures, as freshman guard
Tyler Morrison added 11 points. Freshman guard
Taz Stinson led SLU with 11 rebounds and four steals, as Southeastern forced the Wolfpack into 26 turnovers.
The Lady Lions had no answer for Temple, who finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Junior guard Di'Mond Jackson recorded a double-double of her own with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack. Loyola finished with a 65-40 advantage on the boards, as freshman forward Mary Grace Copa and sophomore guard Megan Worry had 11 rebounds apiece off the bench.
The first quarter saw the Lady Lions shoot just 11.1 percent (2-for-18) from the floor, falling behind, 18-5, after the initial 10 minutes. Underwood got hot to close out the second quarter, as Southeastern whittled a 20-point second quarter deficit to a more manageable 35-23 halftime score.
After the two teams played to a standstill in the third quarter, Southeastern's defensive pressure payed dividends early in the fourth quarter. SLU outscored the Wolfpack, 14-6, to start the final period.
A steal by freshman guard
Courtney Dawsey led to sophomore guard
Jaclyn Scholvin getting fouled and making a pair of free throws to cut the Loyola advantage to 58-54 with 6:18 left.
However, Loyola answered with a 9-3 run of its own over the next three and a half minutes. A three-point play by Temple stretched the lead to 67-57 with 2:48 remaining and Southeastern would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Southeastern will officially open the 2016-17 season on Nov. 11 with a 2 p.m. contest at Ole Miss. The game will be broadcast live in the Hammond Area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at
www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app.
Loyola (N.O.)
Franckiewicz 2-5 0-0 5, Jackson 3-7 6-8 13, Anthony 0-4 0-0 0, Anderson 2-4 0-0 4, Temple 8-11 6-7 22, Billups 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 2-7 2-2 6, Long 0-2 0-0 0, Copa 3-5 2-4 8, Jones 2-7 4-7 8, Worry 2-10 1-3 5, Richardson 0-0 0-0 0, Noto 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 26-64 21-31 76.
Southeastern Louisiana
Stinson 2-7 2-4 6, Underwood 8-23 6-8 26, Scholvin 1-3 4-4 7, Morrison 5-13 1-2 11, Brailey 0-8 0-0 0, Dawsey 0-3 0-0 0, Hall 0-2 0-0 0, Dugas 1-4 1-2 3, Fielder 0-5 1-1 1, Warren 1-6 5-8 8. Totals 18-74 20-29 62.
End of 1
st Quarter – LOY 18, SLU 5. Halftime – LOY 35, SLU 23. End of 3
rd Quarter – LOY 52, SLU 40. 3-point goals – LOY 3-20 (Franckiewicz 1-4, Jackson 1-1, Noto 1-1, Worry 0-6, Miller 0-4, Anderson 0-2, Anthony 0-1, Jones 0-1), SLU 6-24 (Underwood 4-10, Warren 1-5, Scholvin 1-1, Brailey 0-3, Morrison 0-2, Dawsey 0-2, Dugas 0-1). Technical Fouls – None. Fouled Out – Underwood. Rebounds – LOY 65 (Temple 17), SLU 40 (Stinson 11). Assists – LOY 12 (Worry 4), SLU 6 (Morrison 2). Total Fouls – LOY 22, SLU 30. A - 522.
