HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team fell in a hard-fought battle Friday evening to the reigning National Champion LSU in a historic sold-out Pride Roofing University Center.
Southeastern (2-2) came out with a great start to the ballgame going toe to toe with No. 7 LSU (4-1) in the first quarter with an 8-8 tie at the beginning of the first quarter. The Lady Lions finished the second quarter with a 21-20 advantage over the Tigers.
Hailey Giaratano and
Kennedy Paul led SLU with double-digit scoring tied at 12 points.
Prairie View A&M transfer Paul was a spark throughout the game with 12 points and six rebounds to lead the Lady Lions. Paul's versatility made an impact allowing her to step outside the paint and hit shots when needed to cut into the second half deficit.
The Tigers went on a 15-point run at the end of the third quarter to give No.7 LSU the momentum the rest of the game. LSU outscored the Lady Lions 22-7 in the third quarter to extend its lead. Flau'jae Johnson led the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds to close out the night. Freshman Mikaylah Williams was the second leading scorer for the Tigers with 13 points shooting 66.0 percent from the field.
SLU gained a spark in the fourth quarter to go on its best scoring run of the game. The Lady Lions had a 12-11 advantage over the Tigers and forced them into 15 turnovers.
Daija Harvey led Southeastern with three steals while
Cheyanne Daniels followed with two.
The Lady Lions continued to display effort but the Tigers overpowered them on the boards.
Avari Berry came off the bench and contributed six points as a freshman to continue bringing solid production as a young player.
The reigning champion showdown was a highly anticipated matchup and SLU remained in the fight although not being able to close it out. For the first time in program history the Pride Roofing University Center was sold out with 7,500 seats.
The Lady Lions will return to play Monday to face up against Jackson State at home for a 12 p.m. matchup Nov. 20.
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.
- LionSports.net -
