Game 25 | SLC Quarterfinals | No. 3 Southeastern (14-10) vs. New Orleans (5-17)
March 11, 2022 | 1:30 p.m. | Merrell Center | Katy, Texas
Series History: UNO leads 28-24
Last Meeting: Southeastern 59, New Orleans 51 (OT) (Feb. 24, 2022 | Hammond, La.)
Television: ESPN+
Live Video | Live Stats

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team will be the No. 3 seed in this week's Southland Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, which opened Thursday at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
 
The third-seeded Lady Lions (14-10) will face No. 7 New Orleans (5-17) in Friday's quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. The Privateers opened the tournament with a 57-48 victory over sixth-seeded Northwestern State Thursday.
 
Should SLU get past the Privateers, it will advance to face No. 2 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (19-9) in the semifinals Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet in Sunday's 1 p.m. championship game. The tournament champion will represent the Southland in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The non-championship rounds will be televised on ESPN+. Sunday's championship game will air on CBS Sports Network.
 
Southeastern will be making its 12th all-time appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament, where they have a 1-10 all-time record. The Lady Lions' lone Southland Tournament win was a 66-63 first-round victory at then-league member UTSA in the 2001-02 season.
 
The All-Southland Conference trio of Caitlyn Williams (9.9 ppg), Morgan Carrier (8.2 ppg) and Hailey Giaratano (7.3 ppg) are the top three scorers for SLU. Giaratano is also second in the Southland with 3.3 assists per game and has the league's best assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Williams is third in the Southland with 7.9 rebounds per game and has fueled a plus-6.1 rebounding margin. The Brusly, Louisiana native is the first Lady Lion to earn first team All-Southland honors since 2008-09 and is sixth in school history with 832 career rebounds.
 
The Lady Lion defense has limited opponents to 54.0 points per contest. Breonca Ducksworth has a team-high 36 steals, while Natalie Kelly has blocked 16 shots to pace the squad. Williams is third in school history with 92 blocked shots.
 
New Orleans won two of its last three prior to the Southland Tournament. Third team All-Southland performer Jomyra Mathis (12.5 ppg) leads UNO in scoring, while DeArica Pryor joins her in double figures with 10.9 points per contest.
 
SLU trails the Privateers, 28-24, in the all-time series. Southeastern has won the last four meetings, including sweeping the season series in 2021-22. The Lady Lions earned a 72-48 victory in New Orleans on Jan. 20 before a 59-51 overtime win on Feb. 24 in Hammond.
 
The Islanders awaits the Lady Lions or Privateers Saturday. Defensive Player of the Year Alecia Westbrook (13.3 ppg, 10.5 rpg) is the only Southland player averaging a double-double, as she and Makinna Serrato (14.1 ppg) both represented Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on the All-Southland first team. Violeta Verano leads the Southland with 4.6 assists per game for TAMU-CC.
 
Southeastern is 9-12 all-time versus the Islanders with each protecting its home court during the 2021-22 regular season. The Lady Lions won, 48-43, in Hammond on Jan. 27, before dropping a 57-50 road decision on Feb. 17.
 
2022 Southland Conference Women's Basketball Tournament | March 10-13 | Merrell Center | Katy, Texas
 
First Round – Thursday, March 10
Game 1 – No. 5 UIW 74, No. 8 Nicholls 73
Game 2 – No. 7 New Orleans 57, No. 6 Northwestern State 48

Second Round – Friday, March 11
11 a.m. - Game 3 - No. 4 McNeese vs. UIW
1:30 p.m. - Game 4 - No. 3 Southeastern vs. New Orleans 

Semifinals – Saturday, March 12
1 p.m.- Game 5 - No. 1 HBU vs. Winner Game 3 (ESPN+)
3:30 p.m. - Game 6 - No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Winner Game 4 (ESPN+) 

Championship – Sunday, March 13
1 p.m. – Game 7 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (CBS Sports Network) 

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. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.
 
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