HOUSTON, Tex. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team pulled out with a 58-31 victory over Houston Christian after a second half spark Thursday evening in the Sharp Gymnasium.
Two Lady Lions closed out the game in double figures to help Southeastern (19-3, 13-0 SLC) secure a 27-point win against Houston Christian (5-17, 2-11 SLC) to improve to 13-0 in conference play.
Cheyanne Daniels led all scorers with 14 points and 10 rebounds to claim her second double-double of the season. The senior center finished five-of-12 from the field and four-of-four from the free throw line while dominating on the boards with six offensive rebounds.
Freshman
Tyreona Sibley stepped up big for SLU to provide a spark of the bench with 10 points and five rebounds in the commanding road win, shooting five-of-seven from the field.
Taylor Bell (eight points) also provided a boost of energy for the Lady Lions in the second half of the contest with two steals, alongside shooting three-of-eight from the field and two-of-two from the charity stripe.
Avari Berry (four points) ended the game with four steals to lead the team while
Alexius Horne (five points) led SLU with three assists.
Southeastern's bench showed out in its effort to remain undefeated in league play as it gained 31 points to seal the deal. The Lady Lions captured 28 paint points, 23 points off turnovers and 16 second chance points.
SLU came out flat in the start of the first quarter as Houston Christian jumped out to gain a scoring run on its home court. The Huskies worked to take control of the game early as it fired from all levels to claim an advantage over the Lady Lions. Victoria Dixon (six points) led the charge in the first quarter as the junior proved to be a problem early. Southeastern recovered midway in the quarter as it chipped in paint points by Daniels and
Kaili Chamberlin (five points) from behind the arch to produce its own four-point scoring run. SLU's bench battled to turn the tide of momentum in the closing minutes of the first quarter to finish with a 13-10-point advantage.
The Lady Lions bench returned in the beginning of the second quarter on a roll as they slowly worked to build their lead. Houston Christian weathered the storm and obtained a spark of momentum from the three-point line as Hannah Fields (six points) drained a three-pointer from downtown. Southeastern turned up its defensive pressure to force the Huskies into six turnovers in the second quarter alone to add in 10 points. Jo Oly (five points) drained another three-pointer for Houston Christian late in the quarter to try and cut into the deficit, but SLU continued to pull ahead as Sibley got hot from the field. Sibley scored in the last three offensive trips for the Lady Lions to end the first half up, 27-18.
Southeastern ended the first half shooting 33.3 percent from the field, 16.7 percent from the three-point line and eight-of-eight from the free throw line. The Lady Lions' bench chipped in 17 points throughout the first half with 15 points off turnovers and 10 paint points. Southeastern forced HCU to shoot 29.4 percent from the field with 13 turnovers going to halftime.
Sibley picked up right where she left off in the opening minutes of the third quarter to extend SLU's lead as Daniels also caused problems for the Huskies on the offensive boards. Houston Christian would not go down with a fight and continued to work to produce a scoring run fueled by Amy Cotton (seven points) from behind the arch. As the Lady Lions relied on their defense to convert to offense, the tables completely turned in their favor to achieve a dominant 18-5-point edge to end the third quarter up 45-23.
SLU kept its foot on the gas as Daniels continued to give HCU trouble with a six-point scoring run in the opening of the fourth quarter. The Huskies could not recover in the second half to produce a run to cut into the deficit as Southeastern's balanced scoring pulled into effect midway in the quarter. Horne and
Lexi Alexander came alive late in the contest to fuel the Lady Lions' momentum. Tove Caesar would connect on one last three-point attempt for Houston Christian, but it would come too late as Southeastern closed out the contest with its eighth game decided by 20 or more points.
The Lady Lions finished the game shooting 39.7 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from the three-point line and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe. Southeastern also dominated on the boards with a 43-23 rebounding advantage over Houston Christian to showcase their physicality.
SLU will continue on the road to face UIW Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in the McDermott Center. Saturday's game will be streamed 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.
