CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team suffered a 70-53 loss to Quinnipiac on the opening day of the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament Friday evening in the Watsco Center.
Nicholls transfer
Lexi Alexander led Southeastern (4-2) with 17 points and 10 rebounds to earn her second double-double of the season with the green ad gold. Alexander shot 44.5 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from the charity stripe against Quinnipiac (6-0).
Veteran
Alexius Horne followed with 15 points and three assists off the bench, shooting 4-10 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line. The Baton Rouge, La. native has collected double digit scoring in all six games this season.
SLU was unable to claim the win after a second half surge from Quinnipiac to pivot all the momentum to the Bobcats to continually build on their lead with 23-13-point advantage in the fourth quarter.
Both teams worked to set the tone of the game in the opening minutes as freshman Gal Raviv (24 points) hit a three for Quinnipiac and
Arianna Patton (seven points) responded to drain a three from downtown for SLU. As the battle continued, Southeastern settled in the game to gain a 12-10-point advantage over the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac returned in the second quarter with a 23-16-point edge over the Lady Lions as Raviv continued to cause problems with her aggression. Sophomore Anna Foley (14 points) also came alive in the second quarter with solid production in the paint for Quinnipiac to help them take the lead. The Bobcats shot 52.9 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the stripe to go into halftime with a five-point lead, 33-28.
The Bobcats carried the same intensity in the second half, though Southeastern weathered the storm to develop a third quarter run fueled by Alexander, Horne and
Cheyanne Daniels (eight points). Alexander and Daniels worked in the paint with solid production to acquire an 8-6-point advantage over Quinnipiac in the third quarter while grabbing 22 rebounds combined for SLU. Horne heated up midway in the third quarter to cut into the deficit, but foul trouble would creep in against key contributors. The Lady Lions continued to work hard against adversity to finish shooting 7-13 from the field and 50.0 percent from behind the three-point line. SLU ended the third quarter down by seven-points, 47-40.
Southeastern continued to fight to stay within reach in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats continued to extend their lead with the help of clutch plays by Karson Martin (11 points). As Quinnipiac worked to solidify their sixth win of the season, Jackie Grisdale stepped up late in the game shooting 3-7 from the field and 3-6 from behind the arch. SLU fought to regain the lead with exceptional hustle plays midway in the fourth quarter, but multiple trips to free throw line for the Bobcats extended their lead. Quinnipiac finished the quarter shooting 61.5 percent from the field, 66.7 percent from the three-point line, and 55.6 percent from the charity stripe.
Quinnipiac closed out the game gaining 19 points off Southeastern's 14 turnovers and 10 points off second chance opportunities. Four players finished in double figures for the Bobcats as they secured 24 points in the paint.
SLU's bench contributed 19 points to make an effort to cut into the deficit. Southeastern acquired 28 points in the paint and won the battle on the boards with 39 rebounds, but could not pull ahead in the final stretch of the game. Overall, the Lady Lions shot 34.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from behind the three-point line and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe.
Southeastern will be back for the second day of the tournament Sunday afternoon at 11 a.m. CT to take on Charlotte. Live stats, provided by the hosts, can be accessed on the women's basketball schedule page at
www.LionSports.net. Listen to the game on 90.9 FM at
www.LionSports.net/ListenLive or
www.LionUpRadio.org, or through the following apps - Lions' Gameday, TuneIn and MyTuner Radio.
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.
