Islanders hold off Lady Lions, 56-52

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana junior forward Kyla Williams’ potential game-tying bucket rimmed out in the final seconds, as the Lady Lions dropped a tough 56-52 decision to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Southland Conference women’s basketball action at the Dugan Wellness Center.

Southeastern (4-17, 3-7 Southland) nearly came up with its second straight road win, but in the end the Islanders (12-8, 5-4 Southland) were able to hold off the Lady Lions in an evenly-matched midweek tilt.

SLU went into the final quarter trailing by five, but came back to cut it to two in the final seconds. Senior guard Taylin Underwood sliced to the hoop for a layup opportunity, but it missed the mark and went out of bounds off an Islander to give Southeastern one last shot with 4.9 seconds left.

Kyla Williams got a good luck off the inbounds feed from sophomore guard Tyler Morrison, but her shot wouldn’t fall. Senior forward Kre’Ana Henry grabbed the rebound for the Islanders and iced the game with a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds left.

Southeastern held A&M-Corpus Christi without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the game and jumped out to a 12-3 lead. The Islanders would battle back in the latter part of the period, cutting the SLU lead to 17-14 after one quarter.

The Lady Lions led by six midway through the second quarter, but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi closed out the half on a 12-5 run to take a 31-30 lead at halftime.

The third quarter saw the Islanders add to their lead. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outscored SLU, 16-12, in the period to take a 47-42 advantage into the final quarter.

Junior guard Jaclyn Scholvin and sophomore guard Charliee Dugas shared team-high honors with 12 points apiece for SLU. Kyla Williams added seven points off the bench, while Morrison led the Lady Lions with six assists, seven rebounds and two steals.

Henry was the lone Islander in double figures with 14 points. Sophomore forward Uri Jolivette led AMCC with eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Emma Young had a team-high three steals off the bench.

Southeastern will return home on Saturday, hosting Central Arkansas for a 2 p.m. contest. The game will be televised live by the Southeastern Channel, streamed on www.Southland.org/live and replayed on Cox Sports Television on Sunday at 6 p.m. The SLU-UCA contest can also be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app.

Saturday will be Local Heroes and Military Appreciation Day for the doubleheader versus UCA. All military personnel, first responders and local unit members will receive free admission with valid service ID.

Scholvin will be Saturday’s Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans at the women’s game will receive a trading card featuring the Mandeville, Louisiana native courtesy of PRIDE.

Southeastern Louisiana 52 (4-18, 3-7 SLC)
Underwood 0-8 1-2 1, Scholvin 4-11 2-2 12, Morrison 2-4 0-0 4, C. Williams 2-4 0-0 4, Brailey 2-6 0-0 6, K. Williams 3-5 0-0 6, Carrier 3-7 0-0 6, Dugas 5-8 1-1 12. Totals 21-53 5-10 52.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (12-8, 5-4 SLC)
Wright 3-7 3-4 9, Jolivette 2-3 2-2 6, Evans 0-4 0-0 0, Mbamalu 2-11 3-4 9, Booth 2-6 0-2 4, Robinson 3-5 0-0 7, Henry 4-4 5-7 14, Young 2-6 2-2 7. Totals 18-46 15-21 56.
End of 1st Quarter – SLU 17, AMCC 14. Halftime – AMCC 31, SLU 30. End of 3rd Quarter – AMCC 47, SLU 42. 3-point goals – SLU 5-23 (Scholvin 2-6, Brailey 2-4, Dugas 1-4, Underwood 0-5, Carrier 0-4), AMCC 5-17 (Mbamalu 2-10, Robinson 1-3, Young 1-2, Henry 1-1, Wright 0-1). Technical Fouls – None. Fouled Out – Jolivette. Rebounds – SLU 31 (Morrison 7), AMCC 34 (Jolivette 8). Assists – SLU 14 (Morrison 6), AMCC 14 (Three with 3). Total Fouls – SLU 17, AMCC 16. A – 756.