LAKE CHARLES, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champions Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team suffered a tough 60-59 loss to second seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday afternoon in the semifinals of the SLC Tournament.
 
Three Lady Lions finished in double figures led by senior guard Hailey Giaratano (11 points) with eight rebounds and three assists. Graduate transfer Kennedy Paul and Arianna Patton tied with 10 points in the close matchup against A&M-Corpus Christi (22-8, 14-4 SLC). Paul picked back up on her quarterfinal's performance, shooting 5-8 from the field to provide a spark off the bench for Southeastern (19-12, 14-4 SLC). Patton contributed to SLU's scoring run early in the game shooting 100.0 percent from the free throw line and 2-7 from behind the arch in the loss to the Islanders.
 
Southeastern was unable to close out the game after a momentum turning 18-9-point scoring run in the third quarter by A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islanders capitalized 13 points off SLU's 14 turnovers in the game.
 
The Lady Lions came out the gates locked in with an 11-0 scoring run over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi early in the first quarter. Patton fueled Southeastern early on in the contest, shooting back-to-back triples and four free throws to lead all scorers in the first quarter with double digits. The Islanders worked to cut into the deficit down by 10 to end the first quarter, 21-11. A&M-Corpus Christi regrouped in the second quarter with balanced scoring to go on a 17-11-point scoring run to bring the game within three points, 32-28.
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi acquired 20 points from its bench to advance to the championship game. The Islanders gained 24 points in the paint and seven points in transition as Mireia Aguado led all scorers with 16 points. Aguado finished shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 2-5 from the three-point line with six rebounds to be a spark plug throughout the game. Senior guard Paige Allen (14 points) followed up with five rebounds, shooting 5-6 from the stripe. All-Conference First Team selection Alecia Westbrook secured 10 points and 10 rebounds to claim her nineteenth game in double figures. Nabaweeyah Gill also tied with 10 points to cause problems in the paint for SLU while shooting 83.3 percent from the free throw line.
 
The Islanders continued to fight back and gained its first lead in the game in the third quarter after obtaining a 19-8-point advantage, 47-41. A&M-Corpus Christi forced the Lady Lions into seven turnovers in the third quarter alone to turn up its defensive pressure. SLU bounced back early in the fourth quarter to regain its lead and bring the contest down to the wire, but could not hold on with mere seconds left on the clock.
 
 Southeastern won the battle on the boards with a 40-37 edge and scored 28 points in the paint to finish the game. SLU showcased its physicality on the boards securing 15 points off second chance opportunities. The Lady Lions pressured Texas A&M-Corpus Christi into shooting 34.5 percent from the field while Southeastern closed out the game shooting 37.3 percent from the field and 84.6 percent from the charity stripe.
 
SLU closes out the season with its fifth SLC Tournament appearance with Coach Guzzardo at the helm. The Lady Lions end their 2023-24 season with four seniors who greatly impacted the program. Hailey Giaratano, Daija Harvey, Dijone' Flowers and Kennedy Paul end their careers in SLU's green and gold. Southeastern is looking to return many of its contributors this season including 2022-23 All-Conference First Team selection Alexius Horne who missed all of the 2023-24 season recovering from an injury.
 
 
 
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.
 
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