HOUSTON, Tex. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team suffered a 70-65 loss to Houston on the road in the Fertitta Center Sunday afternoon.
Southeastern (6-3) dropped its last non conference game of the season to Houston (3-7) after a fourth quarter surge from the Cougars pushed them ahead to gain the lead and gain their third win of the season.
Alexius Horne and Nicholls transfer
Lexi Alexander tied to lead the Lady Lions with 18 points to combine for shooting 12-24 from the field. Horne tied her season-high five assists for the third time this season while shooting 5-6 from the free throw line. Alexander finished with three steals, shooting 6-7 from the charity stripe and led the team on the boards with seven rebounds. The Round Rock, Tex. Native earned a season high to gain her fourth game in double figures.
Senior
Cheyanne Daniels followed up with 10 points and two steals, shooting 60.0 percent from the field and 4-4 from the free throw for a solid afternoon of production.
SLU came out to a great start with a 6-0 run in the opening minutes of the game to gain some early momentum. Junior
Jalencia Pierre (six points) fueled the Lady Lions in the first quarter with the first four points, but Houston quickly recovered to cut into the deficit. As Southeastern continued to work in the paint, Houston chipped in extra points by capitalizing off the Lady Lions' turnovers to end the quarter down by two, 14-12.
Southeastern continued to extend its lead in the second quarter as it forced the Cougars into multiple turnovers to secure points into transition. Houston rallied to turn the tide of momentum midway in the second quarter as Elyia Love (17 points) stepped up to become a problem for Southeastern, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the stripe. The Cougars gained the lead late in the second quarter as Love and Laila Blair (19 points) carried the team to protect its home court. Blair also heated up from behind the three-point line with a huge three-point conversion going into halftime with the lead, 34-29.
The Lady Lions came out with a different intensity after the halftime break as their stifling defense provided extra offensive possessions off Houston's back-to-back turnovers. Southeastern retook the lead early in the third quarter as the Cougar's hit an offensive slump for a few minutes. Houston was also deflated after Love fouled out of the contest due to a technical foul midway in the quarter, which limited their offensive firepower. Alexander took advantage of her opportunities and connected on back-to-back buckets to become a third quarter spark to regain Southeastern's lead 47-45.
Houston continued to battle in the fourth quarter as it secured easy points at the free throw line to due its aggression. The Cougars also worked to regain the advantage on the boards and closed the game with a 42-32 edge as they obtained extra possessions off second chance opportunities. The Lady Lions hit a rough patch midway in the fourth quarter as they couldn't connect, while Houston finished with a 25-18-point advantage in the fourth quarter. Blair, Leilani Augmon (12 points) and Kierra Merchant (14 points) proved to be a dynamic trio in the fourth quarter as they banded together to help the Cougars protect their home court.
The Cougars finished with 21 points off Southeastern's turnovers and 16 points in the paint. Houston's bench also added in 15 points to secure the win while converting 23-of-30 free throws. Four players for Houston closed out the game in double figures as Augmon gained a double-double with 10 rebounds after playing 37 minutes in the contest.
SLU ended the game with 32 points in the paint, 13 fast break opportunities and 10 points off second chance opportunities. Southeastern finished the game shooting 40.7 percent from the field and 72.7 percent from the free throw line.
The Lady Lions will continue on the road for the first week of Southland Conference play traveling to Thibodaux, La. to face Nicholls. Southeastern will take on the Colonels Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday's game will be televised on ESPN+.
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.
