HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team earned a long-awaited win Thursday with a 74-64 victory over UIW in the University Center.
Southeastern (3-18, 2-12 in SLC) played a competitive game that included six lead changes against UIW (10-11, 8-6 in SLC), ending the game with a double-digit lead to decisively snap the losing streak.
The Lady Lions had five players score in double figures, including
Taylor Wilkins (15),
Mia Ramos (14),
Aliyah Collins (14),
Lihi Azouri (12), and
Natalie Huff (11). Wilkins led all players in the game with three triples, the last of which put the Cardinals away for good.
Helping to set the tone on the defensive end of the floor,
Bethany Graves was first among all players in Thursday's game with 11 rebounds, the only player to reach the double-digit rebounding mark. Huff notched a game-leading four steals, too, contributing to the Lady Lions reaching 10 steals as a team.
Gwendlyn McGrew had the game-leading mark in points with 19, while Destiny Whitaker and Jorja Elliott had 12 points apiece to fill up the scoresheet. McGrew also led UIW with seven rebounds.
Thursday's game was a back-and-forth contest that included six lead changes, starting with SLU leading after the first quarter, 24-15. UIW turned the tables to begin the second, going on a 15-0 run, before SLU spun things back in its favor with a 19-5 run, heading into halftime with an eight-point edge.
After UIW fought back to lead by two in the third, a triple by Wilkins put Southeastern back ahead to end the frame, 52-51. The Cardinals slowly made their way back into the game, taking a one-point advantage with over four minutes to go in the game, 63-62. Behind lockdown defense that held UIW to no points in the final minutes, scores by Graves and Huff gave SLU a three-point lead with 1:44 left, before a Wilkins triple secured the win with less than a minute remaining.
The Lady Lions stay in the University Center for a matchup against HCU Saturday, at 1 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard on KSLU 90.9 The Lion, online at either
www.LionSports.net/listenlive or
www.LionUpRadio.org, via the following apps – Lions Gameday Experience, Live365, iHeart, Audacy, TuneIn and MyTuner Radio - or on Alexa speakers (skill must be enabled first). All you have to say is, "Alexa, play K.S.L.U."
Saturday's 1 p.m. matchup against HCU will feature Love & Basketball. SLU will be celebrating Valentine's Day in its Feb. 7 matchup against the Huskies. The team will be showing love to fans by handing out Valentine's Day Candy Grams as part of the celebration.
Taylor Wilkins is Saturday's Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans to attend the matchup against HCU will receive a trading card featuring the New Orleans, La. native, courtesy of PRIDE.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Women's Basketball, follow @LionUpWBB on X and Instagram or like /SoutheasternWBB on Facebook.
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.
