BEAUMONT, Tex. – The reigning Southland Conference champions Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team suffered a tough 59-45 loss to Lamar on the road Saturday afternoon in the Neches Arena.
Graduate transfer
Kennedy Paul and junior
Taylor Bell who shot 100.0 percent from the free throw line tied with eight points to lead Southeastern (11-8, 7-1 SLC) in the matchup against the Cardinals (13-5, 7-1 SLC).
Hailey Giaratano contributed eight points along with five assists and three steals in the Lady Lions first defeat in conference play this season.
SLU was unable to recover from a 16-4-point run from Lamar in the third quarter to turn the momentum of the contest in the favor of the Cardinals to steadily build on their lead.
Southeastern started the matchup off hot with a 11-3-point advantage over Lamar in the first quarter led by junior transfer
Arianna Patton (five points) with three quick buckets. The Lady Lions executed offensively to gain their best scoring run to end the first quarter, 16-11.
Lamar regained its composure to secure the second quarter with a 11-10-point advantage over Southeastern though the Lady Lions would hold their lead into halftime, 26-22. Graduate senior Brooklyn Mitchell (10 points) was the spark for the Cardinals in the first half to help Lamar win every quarter afterwards. Three Cardinals finished in double-digit scoring as the dynamic duo of Akasha Davis (19 points) and Sabria Dean (11 points) came alive in the second half to both claim a double-double.
SLU forced Lamar into 11 turnovers, but the Cardinals would test Southeastern's aggression on the boards with 14-8-point advantage off second chance opportunities. Lamar also outscored the Lady Lions in paint production with a 26-16-point edge.
Southeastern fought to chip away at the Cardinals 38-30 lead in the third quarter, but could not regain enough momentum to turn the tide. Lamar would finish the game shooting 32.8 percent from the field, but remained aggressive to convert easy points at the free throw line shooting 90.0 percent. The Lady Lion's bench contributed 22 points to make an effort to cut into the deficit.
SLU will be back in the Pride Roofing University Center Thursday evening at 6 p.m. to take on UIW Feb.1. Senior guard
Daija Harvey will be the Spotlight Player of the Game for the matchup. The first 150 fans will receive trading cards of the senior, courtesy of PRIDE. The Lady Lions would like to recognize our military and first responders Feb.1 during halftime. Thursday's matchup will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard online at
www.LionSports.net/ListenLive.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Women's Basketball, follow @LionUpWBB on X, like /SoutheasternWBB on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit
www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
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.
