HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana shot 60.0 percent from the floor on the way to an 82-63 victory over Nicholls in Southland Conference women's basketball action Saturday night in the University Center.
The win was the third straight for Southeastern (7-6, 6-4 Southland). The Lady Lions hot-shooting night helped it end a six-game losing streak versus Nicholls (7-11, 6-5 Southland). Southeastern completed its first 2-0 week during Southland Conference play, as Saturday's win in the final game of a six-game home stand followed Wednesday's 68-67 win over Sam Houston on a
Caitlyn Williams' buzzer-beater.
"These were two huge wins for us," Southeastern head coach
Ayla Guzzardo said. "On Wednesday, we did a great job winning a tight game and today we were able to build a lead and hold it. We're playing with confidence and we have some momentum heading into the back half of the Southland schedule."
Hailey Giaratano led Southeastern with a career-high 22 points, as she (3-for-4) and
Morgan Carrier (5-for-7) led a 10-for-17 performance from behind the arc for the Lady Lions. Carrier added 20 points of her own, marking the first time this season SLU has had a pair of 20-point scorers in the same game.
Chrissy Brown chipped in with 11 points off the bench to give SLU a trio of double-digit scorers.
Cierria Cunningham and Breonca Duckworth facilitated the offense with five assists apiece.
"We did a lot of film work over the past few days," Guzzardo commented. "Our players did an excellent job recognizing where the open shots were going to be against their defense. We were really pleased with our recognition and execution."
Southeastern also controlled the boards, finishing with a 36-25 rebounding advantage.
Natalie Kelly led SLU with a season-high 13 rebounds, while Giaratano added seven.
Chelsea Cain and Adrian Mann shared team-high scoring honors for Nicholls with 17 points apiece. Anna McKendree added 14 points, while Allen led the Colonels with nine rebounds.
After a back-and-forth first half, SLU held a 35-32 halftime lead. The third quarter saw SLU take control, as Carrier hit three three-point field goals during a 12-0 run that saw Southeastern extend its lead to 14.
The Lady Lions carried a 57-45 advantage into the final quarter. Nicholls pulled to as close as nine, but SLU answered with a game-clinching 13-3 run. Cunningham hit a three to cap the rally and give Southeastern a commanding 78-59 lead with 3:03 left. Nicholls would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.
Up Next
Southeastern will travel to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a 5 p.m. contest on Wednesday. The game can be viewed on the Islander Digital Network available at
www.GoIslanders.com.
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.
