LAKE CHARLES, La. – Four Southeastern Louisiana players scored in double figures, as the Lady Lions earned a 74-67 Southland Conference road victory over McNeese in league women's basketball action Wednesday night at the H&HP Complex.
 
Southeastern (6-11, 3-5 Southland) shot 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from the floor in the final quarter, breaking open a game that was tied after three periods. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Lady Lions and was the first SLU victory over the Cowgirls (4-13, 1-7 Southland) since the 2013-14 conference opener – a span that included 10 straight McNeese wins.
 
"We needed this win and we got a great team effort," Southeastern head coach Ayla Guzzardo said. "Any time you can beat an in-state conference opponent on the road, it's huge. This should give us a big boost to our confidence moving forward and I'm really proud of how we played together tonight."
 
Celica Sterling led the balanced SLU attack with 18 points and was joined in double figures by the trio of Charliee Dugas (16 points), Caitlyn Williams (16 points) and Alexius Horne (15 points). Williams added a game-high 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, while Dugas scored 12 of her 16 points in the final period.
 
Horne and Dugas also led Southeastern with four assists apiece. The Lady Lions won the turnover battle, 15-10, as Hailey Giaratano led the Lady Lions with a game-high three steals.
 
"We had a lot of people step up for us tonight," Guzzardo said. "We needed a big game from Caitlyn and she delivered. Charliee was huge for us down the stretch. We also really needed Aminat Jubtil tonight. She didn't show up a lot in the box score, but her energy was key. We did an excellent job sharing the ball tonight and everyone contributed to this victory."
 
Sky Jasper led McNeese with 16 points, while Damilola Balogun added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Shaela Gardner chipped in with 10 points off the Cowgirls. Rayah Haynes led McNeese with a game-high six assists.
 
Southeastern closed out the opening quarter on a 9-4 run to take an early lead. Sterling, Horne and Williams had six points apiece in the first period as SLU led, 18-13, after the initial 10 minutes.
 
The Lady Lions led through the second quarter, but could never pull away. Southeastern led by as many as eight points in the period and went into halftime with a 37-32 cushion.
 
SLU looked poised to blow the game open in the third quarter. McNeese scored the first two buckets of the half to cut the lead to one. However, Southeastern held the hosts without a field goal for over four minutes. The Lady Lions went on a 13-1 run during that span, as a Williams layup gave Southeastern a 50-37 lead with 4:21 remaining in the third quarter.
 
However, the rest of the quarter was all Cowgirls. McNeese closed the period on a 16-3 run to send the game into the final quarter deadlocked at 53-53.
 
Southeastern regained control in the fourth quarter. A pair of threes by Dugas ignited a 15-4 run to start the period. A Giaratano trey and a Horne layup capped the rally and gave SLU a commanding 68-57 advantage midway through the final quarter.
 
The lead would grow to as many as 14 down the stretch. McNeese would only cut the lead to single digits in the waning seconds.
 
Up Next
Southeastern will conclude its three-game road swing on Saturday. The Lady Lions travel to Northwestern State for a 1 p.m. Southland Conference game in Natchitoches that will be televised on ESPN3. The game will be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio and Lions Game Day Experience 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.