LAKE CHARLES, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team will begin its run in the 2024 Jersey Mike's Southland Conference Women's Basketball Tournament against Nicholls Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. hosted in Lake Charles.
 
The rematch between third seed Southeastern (18-11, 14-4 SLC) and seventh seed Nicholls (14-17, 7-11 SLC) will close out day two of quarterfinal matchups. Tuesday's game will be on ESPN+ and will also be heard in the Hammond area on 90.9 The Lion. Streaming audio of 90.9 The Lion broadcasts are available online, at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive or www.LionUpRadio.org, or through the following apps - Lions' Gameday, TuneIn and MyTuner Radio. Live stats can be accessed on the women's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
In its last matchup, SLU gained a 68-62 victory over Nicholls to close out its regular season at home. Southeastern pulled ahead midway in the fourth quarter with a 25-16-point advantage over the Colonels to secure the win. Senior guard Hailey Giaratano (25 points) led all scorers with seven rebounds. Cheyanne Daniels followed up with 15 points and five rebounds to aid the Lady Lions in winning the battle on the boards. All-Conference First Team selection Giaratano and Defensive Player of the Year Jalencia Pierre tied with four assists in the contest. SLU secured 14 points off 12 of Nicholls turnovers along with 12 points off second chance opportunities. Southeastern finished the game with 30 paint points and shot 76.5 percent from the free throw line.
 
The Lady Lions are led by Giaratano with 12.4 points per game, followed by Taylor Bell (9.6 ppg), Daniels (8.9 ppg), Pierre (8.5 ppg), and key reserve Allasia Washington (7.1 ppg). Giaratano (3.0 apg) and Pierre (2.8 apg) are a dynamic duo for Southeastern in terms of playmaking, with a combined 165 assists this season. Bell (1.78 spg) ranks sixth in the conference in steals with 48 steals this season. To close out conference play, Southeastern led the conference in turnover margin (+3.79) and ranked second in field goal percentage defense (35.4) throughout the season.
 
Nicholls upset sixth seed New Orleans with a 73-66 victory in the first road of the SLC Tournament. Senior guard Mikayla Etienne (19 points) led the team shooting 41.2 percent from the field and 3-10 from the three-point line to finish the contest. Kyla Hamilton (18 points) was a spark for the Colonels followed by Lexi Alexander (13 points) with ten rebounds to claim her seventh double-double of the season. Deonna Brister (12 points) also contributed double-digit scoring shooting 4-4 from the field, 100.0 percent from the stripe and three-point line. The Colonels forced the Privateers into 20 turnovers and gained 19 points off turnovers led by Hamilton with four steals. Nicholls scored 34 points in the paint and secured 16 points off offensive rebounds. Nicholls quickened the pace off the game in transition capitalizing off 13 fast break points to end the afternoon.
 
This season the Colonels have relied on sophomore forward Lexi Alexander (13.8 ppg) who also leads the team in rebounding (6.6 rpg). Alexander was named to the All-Conference Second Team after a solid season with the Colonels ranking fifth in the conference in scoring and third in field goal percentage (39.3). Nicholls also heavily relies on Freshman of the Year Britiya Curtis (10.6 ppg) who has collected 16 games in double figures this season. Hamilton (9.9 ppg) and Brister (8.2 ppg) follow up as other key contributors for the Colonels as Hamilton has dished out 103 assists this season.
 
Southeastern has defended a 2-0 record over Nicholls this season in conference play as they look to go on a run in the SLC Tournament. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive. All games will be played at the Legacy Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
 
With a win over Nicholls, SLU will survive and advance to the Semifinals to compete against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
 
 
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.
 
 
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