LAKE CHARLES, La. – The No. 1 seed and reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team used a dominant defensive effort to get past No. 4 seed UIW, 57-37, in the semifinals of the 2025 Southland Conference Championships Wednesday morning at the Legacy Center.
With the win, SLU (26-4) moved on to its third appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game. Southeastern will face third-seeded Stephen F. Austin (28-5), which defeated Lamar, 61-53, in Wednesday's other semifinal, in the Southland Conference Tournament final Thursday at 4 p.m.
Thursday's contest will be televised on ESPNU and can be heard on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 97.7 FM/1400 AM. The winner of the tournament will receive the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Southeastern, which came in to the game ranked sixth in Division I in scoring defense, limited UIW to 22.2 percent (10-for-45) shooting and forced 19 Cardinal turnovers on the way to holding an opponent under 50 points for the 14
th time this season. SLU also dominated down low, outscoring UIW, 30-4, in the paint.
Lexi Alexander led the Lady Lions, posting a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while blocking a game-high three shots. Alexander and
Jalencia Pierre shared team-high scoring honors with 12 points apiece. Pierre and SLC Player of the Year
Alexius Horne each had three assists, while Horne had a game-high three steals.
"One of the things that makes this a special team is that we don't know who our top scorer is going to be from game-to-game," Two-time Southland Coach of the Year
Ayla Guzzardo commented. "It's a great problem to have and it makes us hard to defend. We were very proud of the defensive effort and our bench definitely came to play today. We're one step closer to our goal."
UIW (18-13) had two players score in double figures. Jorja Elliott chipped in 12 points, while Dorian Norris added 11.
Southeastern set the tone defensively early in the contest. UIW made its first field goal attempt of the game and did not make another one until eight minutes left in the second quarter. Leading by just five after the opening period, SLU closed out the half on a 9-0 run to take a 28-15 lead into the break.
The Cardinals briefly cut the SLU advantage to eight midway through the third quarter, but the Southeastern defense carried the day. Back-to-back buckets by
Kaili Chamberlin stretched the lead to 12 and ignited a 12-0 run to close the third period, as Southeastern went into the final 10 minutes with a commanding 45-25 advantage.
The Lady Lions grew the leads to as much as 22 early in the fourth quarter and UIW could get no closer than 14 the rest of the way.
SFA, making its return to the Southland from the WAC, had a balanced attack in the semifinal win over Lamar. Trinity Moore led the Ladyjacks with 18 points, while Avery Vansickle hit several key three-point field goals down the stretch in an 11-point effort. Ashlyn Traylor-Walker added 10 points to go with a team-high six assists in the win.
SLU and Stephen F. Austin only met once in the 2024-25 season with the Lady Lions outlasting SFA, 87-81, back on Jan. 9 in Nacogdoches, Texas. Horne and
Cheyanne Daniels had 20 points apiece to lead Southeastern to the victory in the lone regular season matchup.
"Stephen F. Austin will provide a great test for us," Guzzardo said. "They're really good from three and well-coached. It's going to be a tough game and a hard-fought matchup, but this is the moment we've worked toward."
The Lady Lions will be looking to make its second entrance in three years into the NCAA Tournament field, which will be announced Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Should SLU fall in the championship game, Southeastern will represent the Southland Conference in the WBIT.
UIW 37 (18-13)
McCrary 0-4 0-0 0, Norris 4-8 2-3 11, Isono 3-6 0-0 9, Bell 0-2 1-2 1, Elliott 2-6 8-10 12, Lusby 1-3 2-2 4, Whitaker 0-5 0-0 0, Cockrell 0-4 0-0 0, McQuietor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 10-45 13-17 37.
Southeastern 57 (26-4)
Alexander 5-6 2-4 12, Daniels 1-3 0-0 2, Pierre 5-12 1-2 12, Patton 2-4 3-3 9, Horne 3-11 0-0 6, Bell 1-5 0-0 2, Washington 0-4 4-7 4, Chamberlin 2-4 0-0 4, Berry 2-2 0-0 4, Sibley 1-2 0-1 2, Joseph 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 10-17 57.
End of 1
st Quarter – SLU 11, UIW 6. Halftime – SLU 28, UIW 15. End of 3
rd Quarter – SLU 45, UIW 25. 3-point goals – UIW 4-14 (Isono 3-4, Norris 1-3, McCrary 0-4, Elliott 0-3, Whitaker 0-2, Bell 0-1, McQuietor 0-1), SLU 3-11 (Patton 2-4, Pierre 1-3, Horne 0-3, Chamberlin 0-1). Fouled Out – None. Technical Fouls – Bell, SLU. Rebounds – UIW 30 (McCrary, Norris 5), SLU 39 (Alexander 10). Assists – UIW 5 (Five with 1), SLU 12 (Pierre, Horne 3). Total Fouls – UIW 14, SLU 12.
2025 Southland Conference Women's Basketball Championships
First Round – Monday, March 10
Game 1 – No. 5 Northwestern State 66, No. 8 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 63
Game 2 – No. 7 Nicholls 55, No. 6 UTRGV 53
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, March 11
Game 3 – No. 4 UIW 69, Northwestern State 54
Game 4 – No. 3 Stephen F. Austin 77, Nicholls 65
Semifinals – Wednesday, March 12
Game 5 – No. 1 Southeastern 57, UIW 37
Game 6 – Stephen F. Austin 61, No. 2 Lamar 53
Finals – Thursday, March 13
Game 7 – Southeastern vs. Stephen F. Austin, ESPNU, Kajun 107.1 FM/The Highway 104.7 FM/The Boss 97.7 FM/1400 AM
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.
