HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team closed out the home portion of its 2019-20 schedule with a convincing 66-41 victory over Northwestern State in Southland Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon in the University Center.
 
The Lady Lions (12-15, 9-9 Southland) held Northwestern State (7-20, 4-14 Southland) to 31.1 percent (14-for-45) shooting from the field on the way to the lopsided victory. With the win and Central Arkansas' loss at Abilene Christian, SLU has a two-game lead over the Sugar Bears with two games remaining for the final spot in the Southland Conference Tournament.
 
It was a positive final home game for the Southeastern Louisiana senior class of Celica Sterling, Tyler Morrison, Aminat Jubril, Jyar Francis, Charliee Dugas and student manager Alex Tomchek. The 41 points allowed was a season-low for the Lady Lions and marked the sixth time this season SLU has allowed 50 points or less.
 
"We're really pleased to send our seniors out with a victory," Southeastern Louisiana head coach Ayla Guzzardo said. "This is a special group that has helped us turn around this program and we're hoping to end their season with a trip to the postseason. We didn't play as sharp as we're capable of today, but anytime we hold a conference opponent to 41 points, we've done something right."
 
Francis led SLU off the bench with 13 points, while Dugas and Caitlyn Williams finished with 11 points each. Jubril pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, as the Lady Lions finished with a 36-26 rebounding advantage.
 
Morrison led Southeastern with five assists and keyed a solid defensive effort with three steals. For the second straight game, the Lady Lions did not allow a double-digit scorer, as Kira Bonner's nine points paced the Lady Demons. Gabby Bell led NSU with five rebounds and three assists.
 
SLU closed out a competitive first half with five straight points by Morgan Carrier to go into the break with a 30-22 lead. NSU got as close as six in the third quarter, but Southeastern closed out the period with a 16-1 run to take a commanding 50-28 lead into the final quarter.
 
The Lady Lions grew the lead to as much as 29 in the final quarter. With the win, SLU completed the season sweep of the Lady Demons for the second time in the past three years.
 
Up Next
Southeastern heads to Central Arkansas on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest in Conway, Arkansas. 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 and Lions Game Day Experience apps.