HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team wrangled a 65-45 victory over conference rival McNeese Thursday evening in the University Center.
Three Lady Lions finished in double figures to help Southeastern (21-3, 15-0 SLC) secure its second 21 season win under head coach
Ayla Guzzardo.
Arianna Patton and
Alexius Horne led all scorers with 15 points in the rematch against McNeese (8-17, 3-11 SLC) to remain undefeated at home this season. Patton claimed an electrifying career high, shooting five-of-seven from the field, four-of-six from behind the arch and one-of-two from the free throw line. Horne closed out the game five-of-11 from the field, two-of-five from the three-point line, and three-of-three from the charity stripe.
Tyreona Sibley recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 points and a season high 12 rebounds against the Cowgirls. The freshman provided a spark off the bench, shooting four-of-12 from the field and three-of-four from the stripe.
Jalencia Pierre (five points) dished out six assists and five steals to lead the team in both categories at home.
Southeastern came out to a hot start in the first quarter to jump on the Cowgirls with a 14-point scoring run. McNeese chipped in two buckets in the first quarter as SLU smothered the visitors to limit any chance of momentum, gaining 11 points off the Cowgirls six turnovers. The Lady Lions scored from all three levels in the quarter to gain a 22-point lead to dominate early in the contest. Southeastern put together balanced scoring throughout the quarter to build a comfortable lead. Patton shot the lights out the University Center with three made three-points to end the first quarter up 26-4 over the Cowgirls.
McNeese recovered in the second quarter to battle with back-to-back buckets in the opening minutes to provide a spark. Avery Young (seven points) and Kyla Davis (three points) fueled the Cowgirls on the road to weather the SLU's storm midway in the quarter. Both teams ended the second quarter with 14 points as McNeese's bench chipped in 10 points. Southeastern's offense firepower faltered in the second quarter only shooting 29.4 percent from the field. The Cowgirls earned six points in the paint in an effort to dig themselves out the hole from their first quarter deficit. The Lady Lions closed out the first half up 40-18 over McNeese as their dominant first quarter kept them out of reach.
Lexi Alexander (eight points) came alive in the third quarter to fuel a scoring run for SLU to continue to extend its lead. The Cowgirls refused to go away and battled to win the third quarter with a 16-15-point advantage. McNeese closed out the third quarter shooting 45.5 percent from the field led by Kiayra Ellis (10 points) as she proved to be a problem for the Lady Lions midway in the quarter. The Cowgirls came within reach, but it could not recover late in the third quarter, still working to catch up from Southeastern's first quarter performance.
The Lady Lions continued to go back and forth with McNeese as both teams underwent an offensive slump to close out the fourth quarter. The Cowgirls gained an 11-10-point edge over Southeastern after shooting only 26.7 percent from the field. SLU remained in control even after McNeese's run as the Cowgirls could not capitalize off points at the free throw line. Sibley continued to step for the Lady Lions midway in the fourth quarter to extend their lead as the freshman added in six points in the quarter. Southeastern finished the game with 28 points in the paint, 26 points off turnovers and 17 second chance points to progress to 15-0 in Southland Conference play.
SLU will remain at home to face conference rival Nicholls Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. to close out week eight of league play. Lion nation is urged to celebrate the contributions of our five senior Lady Lions Saturday afternoon in the University Center for Senior Day. Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard online at
www.LionSports.net/ListenLive.
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.
