THIBODAUX, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team opened Southland Conference play with a thrilling 58-54 victory over Nicholls in the David R. Stopher Gymnasium Wednesday evening.
Junior guard
Jalencia Pierre (18 points) posted a season high to help Southeastern (7-3, 1-0 SLC) gain its first conference win on the road against Nicholls (7-3, 0-1 SLC). Pierre led the Lady Lions shooting 5-10 from the field and 8-12 from the stripe with four assists.
Alexius Horne (16 points) also provided double-digit scoring with a season-high six assists and two blocks. Horne also finished with six rebounds, shooting 5-13 from the field, 2-4 from the three-point line and 4-4 from the free throw line.
Senior transfer
Kaili Chamberlin (eight points) followed up shooting 3-6 from the field with four assists to contribute a surge of momentum off the bench.
Southeastern closed out with a 21-11-point advantage in the third quarter over Nicholls to end with the victory one the road. The Lady Lions gained 26 points in the paint and remained aggressive on the defense to gain 16 points off turnovers.
SLU came out to a hot start with an 6-0 run early in the matchup before Nicholls fought back to end the first quarter down by three, 13-10. The Colonels gained a spark in the second quarter as they battled to remain aggressive on the offensive boards for extra possessions. Southeastern recovered to obtain a 13-point scoring run early in the second quarter, before Nicholls bounced back to win the second quarter with a 17-10-point advantage with multiple trips to the free throw line. Jesslyn Jalomo knocked down the long three to give the Colonels momentum and a four-point lead, 27-23.
The Lady Lions maintain their position leading the conference in assist/turnover margin, pressuring Nicholls into 19 turnovers and shooting only 25.0 percent from the field. Tanita Swift (20 points) carried the Colonels to gain her first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds, shooting 6-14 from the field and 7-8 from the free throw line. Redshirt senior Elli Garnett ended the night with 10 points and four rebounds, shooting 3-4 from the free throw line to help cut into the deficit.
Southeastern persevered through the adversity on the road as it capitalized off multiple dead ball turnovers by the Colonels. The Lady Lions third quarter lead was fueled by fast break opportunities as Pierre took over the game to extend advantage in transition with a 9-3-point advantage. Alongside three-pointers from Horne and Chamberlin, SLU collected easy points at the free throw line shooting 87.5 percent to end the quarter, 44-38.
Nicholls won the battle on the boards with a 42-28 edge over Southeastern to close out the game, but SLU held tight to its lead down the stretch to stand 1-0 in the opening of conference play. The Lady Lions finished the game shooting 30.8 percent from the field, 100.0 from the three-point line, and 78.9 percent from the free throw line to deliver Nicholls its first loss on its home court. Southeastern's bench chipped in 14 points to contribute double-digit scoring in the thrilling win.
The Lady Lions will travel to Lake Charles, La. to take on McNeese Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Saturday's contest 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.
