HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team secured a 68-61 victory over Southern Miss Friday evening in the University Center.
Southeastern (2-1) protected its home court in a close battle against the Golden Eagles (2-2) with a second half surge fueled by six Lady Lions in double-figures. Senior guard
Alexius Horne led the charge with 13 points, four steals, and four rebounds.
Arianna Patton followed up with 12 points, shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the three-point line.
Nicholls transfer
Lexi Alexander finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds to gain her first double-double of the season as a spark off the bench for the green and gold. Senior
Taylor Bell,
Cheyanne Daniels and
Jalencia Pierre all chipped in with 10 points to aid SLU in its second non-conference win.
The Lady Lions came out to a slow start as Southern Miss gained a 9-0 run to take the early lead. The Golden Eagles dominated in the paint the opening minutes of the game as Meliya Grayson secured a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds to finish 64.3 percent from the field. Southeastern recovered later in the first quarter to work to cut into the deficit by four-points, 22-18.
Southern Miss continued to extend its lead in the second quarter as Trinity Rowe (11 points) fueled the Golden Eagles, shooting 3-4 from behind the three-point line. Southeastern worked to reclaim their advantage in the paint as Bell made her presence known as a mix-match problem. Southern Miss finished the second quarter shooting 54.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arch. The Lady Lions attained a late spark in the first half to tie the contest with a 14-14-point edge.
After returning from the halftime break, Southeastern came out with a different level of intensity on the defensive end to limit Southern Miss' opportunities. The Lady Lions found its rhythm in the opening minutes of the second half as they caused chaos for the Golden Eagles and capitalized off their mistakes with six points off turnovers. SLU began to convert from inside-out as it finished 57.1 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from the three-point line. Southern Miss underwent an offensive slump in the third quarter that allowed the Lady Lions to gain a one-point lead, 52-51.
Southeastern took control in the matchup in the fourth quarter with a 16-10-point advantage as the Lady Lions' top six went to work to close out the game. Senior guard Nyla Jean (14 points) brought a spark of momentum midway in the fourth quarter, but SLU's momentum continued to build to close out the game. The Lady Lions forced Southern Miss to finish shooting 26.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the three-point line. Southeastern gained its second win at home after securing 32 points in the paint, 12 points off turnovers and 16 points off turnovers.
SLU will travel to Memphis, Tenn. to face the Tigers Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. Tuesday'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.
