SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The reigning Southland Conference champions Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team fell 53-51 to UIW Thursday evening on the road in the McDermott Center.
Junior
Taylor Bell tied as the leading scorer with 15 points and five rebounds in the down to the wire matchup against UIW (18-9, 11-5 SLC).
Jalencia Pierre followed up 11 points shooting 5-10 from the field and 1-1 from the three-point line in Southeastern's (17-10, 13-3 SLC) third defeat in league play this season.
SLU was unable to reclaim the game after a 19-10-point run from the Cardinals in the fourth quarter to turn the tide of momentum for UIW to close out the game with a two-point.
Southeastern came out to a slow start to give the UIW an early six-point lead to end the first quarter, 12-6. Sophomore guard Allaisa Washington (six points) provided a spark off the bench scoring the first four points for the Lady Lions. SLU regained its composure in the second quarter to gain a 16-8-point advantage over UIW shooting 50.0 percent from the field with two-lead going into halftime, 22-20.
Senior guard Nina De Leon Negron (15 points) carried her team with five assists and five rebounds to finish the contest. De Leon Negron fueled the Cardinals shooting 8-8 from the free throw line. Chloe Storer (12 points) showcased her versatility throughout the matchup shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the free throw line to cause Southeastern some trouble down the stretch. Destiny Terrell (eight points) secured 13 rebounds to aid UIW in winning the battle on the boards with a stifling 40-27 rebounding edge.
The Lady Lions forced UIW into 17 turnovers led by Pierre and Washington tied with two steals to contribute 14 points off turnovers. The Cardinals took advantage of its aggressiveness on offensive rebounds compiling nine points off second chance opportunities.
The Lady Lions took control after halftime as Bell chipped in 10 points in the third quarter alone. SLU acquired the upper hand to end the third quarter with a 19-14-point advantage over the Cardinals, 41-34. Southeastern maintained its eight-point lead late in the fourth quarter but the Cardinals fought back with a 10-point scoring run predominantly coming from the free throw line. The Lady Lions forfeited their lead with crucial mistakes made with under a minute left on the clock. UIW capitalized off an offensive rebound by De Leon Negron that would send her to the free throw line to obtain a one-point lead. An open layup and steal by Aliyah Collins (seven points) with mere seconds left on the clock gave the Cardinals an opportunity to seal the game. Collins would ice the game at the free throw line to deliver UIW its fifth conference win at home this season.
Southeastern's bench once again came in clutch contributing 28 points to make an effort in closing out the game. SLU earned 26 points in the paint and eight points off fast breaks when taking advantage of its quickness in transition.
Southeastern will remain on the road to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. to close out week nine of conference play. Saturday's matchup will be televised on ESPN+ and live stats, provided by the hosts, can be accessed on the women's basketball schedule page at
www.LionSports.net.
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.
