LAKE CHARLES, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champions Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the SLC Tournament after a 75-57 victory over seventh seed Nicholls Tuesday afternoon.
Graduate transfer
Kennedy Paul (18 points) brought a spark off the bench for Southeastern (19-11, 14-4 SLC) to secure its first game in the tournament. The Brusly native snatched 11 rebounds to claim her first double-double of the season. Paul finished the contest shooting 7-13 from the field and 80.0 percent from the free throw line.
Sophomore guard
Allasia Washington (18 points) followed up in double figures with six rebounds to cause the Colonels (14-18, 7-11 SLC) trouble throughout the matchup. Washington came out on a mission shooting 5-8 from the field, 66.7 percent from the three-point line and 2-3 from the stripe.
Taylor Bell (14 points) also finished in double-digit scoring for the Lady Lions shooting 58.3 percent around the paint to close out the quarterfinals with a win.
Southeastern pulled ahead of Nicholls with a 25-12-point advantage in the third quarter to turn the tide of momentum for the rest of the game. SLU dominated around the rim with 34 points gained in the paint. The Lady Lions won the battle on the boards with a stifling 44-27 edge over the Colonels and earned 11 points off second chance opportunities.
SLU came out with a chip on its shoulder gaining its best 14-point scoring run late in the first quarter. Nicholls bounced back midway into the first quarter to begin its own 11-point scoring run to cut into Southeastern's early lead, 21-13. The Colonels would control the second quarter of the contest with balanced scoring in the paint and behind the arch to obtain a 17-15-point advantage. Nicholls brought the game within six points before heading into halftime, 36-30.
Sophomore forward Lexi Alexander (14 points) led the Colonels in scoring along with seven rebounds to end the game. Alexander capitalized off easy points at the free throw line shooting 4-6 from the stripe although SLU limited Alexander to shooting 35.7 percent from the field. Mikayla Etienne (11 points) also finished in double figures shooting 3-8 from the three-point line to produce a spark for the Colonels throughout the game. Kyla Hamilton (nine points) shot 40.0 percent from the field and led the team with five assists. Nicholls gained 20 points off Southeastern's 18 turnovers in the contest, though the Lady Lions would win every other category over the Colonels.
Paul came alive in the second half of the game through her versatility around the paint and aggression on the offensive boards. The Lady Lions obtained a 25-12-point advantage over Nicholls in the third quarter to build an 18-point lead, 60-42. Southeastern kept its foot on the gas to acquire its biggest lead in the matchup, up by 24-points midway in the fourth quarter. The Colonels continued to fight scoring 14-points but could not recover from the large deficit earlier in the contest to end the game down by 18 points, 75-57.
SLU consistently shot 50.0 percent or higher from the field in the first three quarters of the game over Nicholls. The Lady Lions finished shooting 66.7 percent from behind the arch in the third quarter that decided the game. Southeastern's bench showed up to contribute 28 points in the game as key reserves stepped up big in the win.
Hailey Giaratano (seven points) led the team with five assists while Bell captured three steals to lead the team defensively.
The Lady Lions will move on to the semifinals of the SLC Tournament to face second seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Southeastern and A&M-Corpus Christi split two games in conference play and will square off in the Legacy Center seeking the opportunity to advance to the championship game Thursday at 4 p.m. With a win over the Islanders, SLU will compete against the winner of Lamar and Texas A&M-Commerce. Wednesday's game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard online at
www.LionSports.net/ListenLive. All games will be played in Lake Charles, Louisiana at the Legacy Center.
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.
