HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Despite a valiant late effort, a 19-point deficit was too much for Southeastern Louisiana to overcome in a 62-54 defeat to Southern Miss in nonconference Wednesday night at Reed Green Coliseum.
 
SLU (0-2) could never get into a rhythm offensively in Wednesday's loss, finishing with a 33.3 percent (20-for-60) success rate from the field. USM (2-1) outscored SLU, 41-25, in the second and third quarters on the way to the victory.
 
"We did a good job defensively early on, but we have to be able to score and make easy baskets," Southeastern head coach Ayla Guzzardo commented. "That starts with us as a coaching staff putting our players in the best positions to be successful. We just missed too many easy shots."
 
Southeastern placed a trio in double figures, as Celica Sterling led the way with 16 points. Jyar Francis added 13 points off the bench, while Alexius Horne dropped in 10.
 
Francis also fueled SLU's defensive effort, leading Southeastern with four steals and helping the Lady Lions forced 22 Golden Eagle turnovers. The Ponchatoula, Louisiana native had an impressive return in her first official game since Jan. 30, 2018.
 
"Having Jyar back out there was huge for us and I was really proud to see her take two big charges," Guzzardo said. "She has such a high basketball IQ, makes the right reads and really opens up our offense."
 
Horne led the Lady Lions with three assists, while Aminat Jubril's seven rebounds was the highlight of SLU's effort on the boards, though Southeastern was outrebounded, 42-33.
 
The duo of Respect Leaphart and Shonte Hailes led USM with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Allie Kennedy added 10 points for Southern Miss, while Kelsey Jones chipped in with 10 rebounds off the bench. Hailes also dished out a team-high four assists for the Golden Eagles.  
 
The game was a defensive struggle early, as Southeastern held Southern Miss without a field goal for the first six minutes. However, the Lady Lions could not take advantage of the strong defensive start and trailed, 11-10, after the opening period.
 
USM took control over the next two quarters and took a 52-35 lead into the fourth quarter. The Golden Eagles would grow their lead to 19 early in the final period, but the Lady Lion defense forced enough turnovers to put a scare in Southern Miss down the stretch. Southeastern would get as close as eight in the final minutes, but never could climb all the way back.
 
Up Next
Southeastern will continue its season-opening road swing at UL Lafayette at 6 p.m. The contest can be heard on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Game Day Experience and TuneIn Radio apps.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
For ticket information on the upcoming Southeastern women's basketball season, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.lionsports.net/tickets.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Women's Basketball, follow @LionUpWBB on Twitter, like /SoutheasternWBB on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.