HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana opens its final homestand of the season when the Lady Lions host Northwestern State in Southland Conference action Thursday at 7 p.m. in the University Center.
   
    Southeastern (4-21, 3-11) heads into the final four games of the season 2 1/2 games behind Lamar (10-16, 6-9) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (9-17, 6-9) for the eighth and final spot in next month's Southland Conference Tournament. Northwestern State (16-10, 10-5), meanwhile, has already secured a spot in the tournament and is 2 1/2 games behind Central Arkansas (22-3, 12-2) for the top seed in the conference (Abilene Christian is ineligible while transitioning into Division I).
   
    The game between the Lady Lions and Lady Demons will be broadcast on KSLU-FM (90.9). Live stats will be available at www.LionSports.net.
   
    Southeastern senior guard Erica Hernandez will be Thursday's Spotlight Player of the Game and the first 100 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Floresville, Texas native courtesy of PRIDE.
   
    Thursday will also feature a Cane's Challenge. If the Lady Lions score 50 or more points, fans can take their game ticket or student coupon to participating Raising Cane's to receive a free combo with the purchase of another of equal or greater value.
   
    Southeastern is coming off a tough 72-70 loss at league-leading Abilene Christian on Sunday. The Lady Lions rallied from a six-point deficit with 1:48 remaining to get to within 72-70 on a free throw by senior guard KaeLynn Boyd free throw with just over a second remaining. After Boyd intentionally missed the second free throw, sophomore guard Taylin Underwood raced in to rebound the ball on the left side but her put back attempt bounded off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
   
    Junior forward Dani Fielder had a career day with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Lady Lions. Senior forward Nanna Pool recorded her third straight double-double and 11th of the season with 14 points and 13 boards before fouling out with 2:21 left. Boyd finished with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals while Underwood had 10 points. Southeastern shot 34.7 percent and tied a season-high with 50 rebounds.
   
    The Lady Demons have won four straight after taking a 70-53 win over New Orleans at home on Saturday. In that game, junior guard Beatrice Attura led four Lady Demons in double figures with 18 points. Senior guard Janelle Perez had 14 points and nine assists while senior guard Keisha Lee added another 14 points. Freshman forward Cheyenne Brown had 13 points and seven rebounds, tying sophomore forward Tia Youngblood for the team rebounding high.
   
    Southeastern is eighth in the league in averaging 63.8 points per game. The Lady Lions are shooting 37.0 percent from the field, 27.2 percent on 3-pointers and 68.2 percent from the free throw line. Southeastern's opponents are averaging 80.2 points per game on 40.6 percent shooting from the field, 32.3 percent on 3s and 72.7 percent from the line.
   
    Pool is 10th in the Southland with 14.6 points per game while ranking second in field goal percentage (.507), third in rebounding (9.0 rpg) and fourth in blocked shots (1.2 bpg). Underwood is 13th in scoring (13.6 ppg) and fourth in 3-pointers made (2.6 per game). She has 65 3-pointers on the year, one behind Brooke Necaise's school-record 66 in 2007-08.
   
    Boyd (12.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 78 assists, 32 steals), Hernandez (7.2 ppg, 40 assists, .349 3-point percentage) and freshman forward Kyle Felton (4.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 13 blocks) are expected to join Pool and Underwood in the starting lineup for Southeastern on Thursday.
   
    For Northwestern State, Perez comes in sixth in the league in scoring (15.4 ppg) while ranking third in assists (3.8 apg), free throw percentage (.901) and 3-pointers made (.422). She leads the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.422) and assist/turnover ratio (2.3).
   
    Attura is 14th in scoring (13.5 ppg) while ranking fourth in free throw percentage (.849).  She also leads the squad with 35 steals.
   
    Expected to join Perez and Attura in the Lady Demons' starting five are Brown (8.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 13 blocks), junior guard Shahd Abboud (6.7 ppg, 45 assists, 20 steals) and Youngblood (5.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg). Lee has come off the bench in 13 of the 16 games to average 8.5 points with 35 assists and 31 steals.                 
   
    Northwestern State is averaging 63 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting. The Lady Demons lead the conference with a 36.3 percentage on 3s while making a third-best 73.7 percent of their free throws. Northwestern State is also second in the conference in holding opponents to 61.5 points per game. Those opponents are shooting 40.4 percent from the field, 33.3 percent on 3s and 64.7 percent from the free throw line.    
     
    Northwestern State took a 48-14 lead in the series with an 82-62 win in Natchitoches on Jan. 30 and has now won five of the past six matchups.