NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin broke open a close game with a 56.7 percent (17-for-30) success rate from the field in the second half on the way to a 77-51 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in Southland Conference women's basketball action Thursday night in William R. Johnson Coliseum.
 
Southeastern (4-8, 1-2 Southland) dropped its second straight in a game that followed a similar script as its 87-50 loss to Alabama on Sunday. The Lady Lions played the favorite competitively for the first half, before SFA (10-2, 3-0 Southland) took control in the third quarter on the way to its eighth straight victory.
 
Freshman Alexius Horne led three Lady Lion in double figures with 17 points, while also notching a game-high three steals. Joining Horne in double figures were seniors Jyar Francis and Celica Sterling with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Stephen F. Austin finished with a 42-24 rebounding advantage, as Francis, Tyler Morrison and Caitlyn Williams each led SLU with four rebounds apiece. Morrison also led Southeastern with four assists.
 
SFA's Stephanie Visscher scored 13 of her team-high 17 points in the second half and posted a double-double with a game-high 15 rebounds. Marissa Banfield joined her in double figures with 15 points, as 10 different Ladyjacks scored in the win. Aiyana Johnson and Kennedy Harris had four assists apiece.
 
Southeastern took control early, as five straight Sterling points gave SLU an early 11-7 advantage with 6:-6 left in the opening quarter. However, a couple of Banfield threes sent SFA into the second period with a 16-14 advantage.
 
Neither team could gain a clear advantage in the second quarter, as a Horne steal and a layup cut the SFA lead to 28-26 with 1:28 left in the half. However, Banfield's fourth trey of the period ignited a 6-0 run to close the half with a 34-26 advantage.
 
Visscher scored nine straight points to push the SFA lead to double digits early in the third quarter. The lead would grow to as many as 19 points in the third quarter. A Sterling jumper sent SLU into the final period facing a 54-37 deficit.
 
Any chance of a Southeastern comeback ended early in the fourth quarter. After a Horne bucket cut the lead to 60-44, SFA scored the next 10 points to put the game out of reach.
 
Up Next
On Saturday, SLU returns home to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 1 p.m. in the University Center.
 
Morgan Carrier is Saturday's Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the New Iberia, Louisiana native courtesy of PRIDE.
 
The contest will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio and Lions Gameday Experience apps. The women's basketball game on Thursday will also air on ESPN3.
 
The Southeastern Sports Network will offer a free video stream of the SLU-AMCC contest. Tune in online at www.LionSports.net or the Lions Game Day Experience app for Android or iOS devices. Fans can also watch on Southeastern's YouTube channel (/SLUathletics) with any mobile, tablet or smart TV device (e.g., Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV and Roku).
 
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.