ABILENE, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana senior guard Morgan Carrier scored a career-high 22 points, but it was not enough as Abilene Christian took control late on the way to a 70-62 victory over the Lady Lions in Southland Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Teague Center.
 
ACU (9-2, 2-0 Southland) outscored the Lady Lions (3-4, 2-2 Southland), 20-12, in the fourth quarter to prevent SLU for earning its first-ever win in Abilene. The difference came on the boards, as Abilene Christian was able to out-rebound the visitors, 47-28.
 
Carrier led Southeastern with a new career-high scoring effort, besting previous 20-point showings in wins last season over Alcorn State and Central Arkansas. The New Iberia, Louisiana made three three-point field goals to move into a tie with former teammate Ashailee Brailey for ninth place in program history with 104 career three-point field goals.
 
Carrier was one of two Lady Lions to score in double figures, as Kacey Bradford came off the bench with 10 points. Breonca Ducksworth led SLU with five rebounds and five assists. Chrissy Brown finished with a team-high four steals, while Carrier chipped in with three steals.
 
Anna McLeod led ACU with 23 points. McLeod was one of four Wildcats to reach double figures, along with Madi Miller (14 points), Sarah Griswold (12) and Alyssa Adams (11). Griswold pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to post a double-double, while Adams was one board shy of recorded her fourth consecutive double-double.
 
Southeastern took a 10-point lead late in the opening quarter, but Abilene Christian bounced back in the second quarter to take a one-point lead into the halftime break.
 
Neither team could take control in the third quarter, as the game went into final quarter tied, 50-50. The first 30 minutes featured eight lead changes and nine ties.
 
Trailing 52-50 early in the fourth quarter, ACU took the lead for good with an 8-0 run. The Wildcats held SLU scoreless for nearly six minutes on the run, before Carrier sank a three-point field goal to cut the Wildcat advantage to 58-55 with just over three minutes left.
 
ACU maintained the lead, but Ducksworth sliced into the lane to pull Southeastern within, 64-62, with 1:17 remaining. However, SLU would get no closer, as Abilene Christian scored the game's final six points to secure the victory.
 
Up Next
Southeastern will open a six-game home stand on Wednesday, Jan. 20, hosting McNeese at 7 p.m. in the University Center. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
 
Daija Harvey will be Wednesday's Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Donaldsonville, Louisiana native courtesy of PRIDE.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2020-21 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
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.