Alabama uses second half surge to pull away from SLU

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama outscored Southeastern Louisiana, 49-22, in the second half on the way to an 87-50 victory over the Lady Lions in the nonconference finale for both teams Sunday afternoon at Coleman Coliseum.

The Lady Lions (4-7) trailed by just 10 at halftime, but the Crimson Tide (10-3) took over after the break, shooting 66.7 percent (18-for-27) in the final 20 minutes on the way to their fifth straight victory.

Celica Sterling led Southeastern with 19 points, but was the lone Lady Lion in double figures. Alexius Horne added nine points and a team-high six rebounds, while Jyar Francis chipped in with eight points for SLU.

Horne and Tyler Morrison shared the team lead with three assists apiece. Sterling, Morrison, Horne and Aminat Jubril each were credited with two steals. The Lady Lions committed just 10 turnovers, but Alabama held Southeastern to 29.2 percent (16-for-65) field goal shooting.

Jordan Lewis led a balanced Alabama attack with 16 points, as she was joined in double figures by Megan Abrams (13 points), De’Sha Benjamin (11 points) and Cierra Johnson (10 points). Johnson also led the Crimson Tide with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

A layup by Hailey Giaratano tied the score at 12-12 after a back-and-forth opening six minutes of the contest. However, Alabama would score the final 10 points of the period to go into the second quarter with a 22-12 advantage.

Back-to-back threes by Sterling cut the Alabama lead to 29-25 with 4:39 remaining in the opening half. That would be as close as Southeastern would get, as Alabama built the lead to 38-28 heading into halftime.

Morgan Carrier sank a three to open the second half and cut the Crimson Tide lead to 38-31, but the rest of the quarter was all Alabama, as they outscored SLU, 30-9, in the period to go into the final period with a 68-37 advantage. The lead would grow to as many as 39 in the fourth quarter.

Up Next
Southeastern will return to Southland Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 2 with a 6:30 p.m. contest at Stephen F. Austin. The game will air on ESPN3 and can be heard on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio and Lions Game Day Experience apps.

Southeastern Louisiana 50 (4-7)
Carrier 1-3 2-4 5, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Sterling 8-14 0-0 19, Morrison 0-1 1-2 1, Horne 3-12 3-4 9, Francis 3-13 1-1 8, Giaratano 3-13 0-0 6, Jubril 0-3 0-0 0, Dugas 1-3 0-0 2, Huderson 0-0 0-0 0, Adams 0-0 0-0 0, Rivers 0-1 0-0 0, Harvey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-65 7-11 50.
Alabama 87 (10-3)
Copeland 0-2 0-0 0, Walker 2-3 0-0 5, Abrams 4-5 4-4 13, Richardson 1-1 0-1 2, Lewis 5-6 3-3 16, Johnson 3-10 4-4 10, Davis 1-7 3-4 5, Knight 3-4 0-0 6, Benjamin 4-5 2-3 11, Barber 1-5 3-4 6, Cruce 2-2 0-0 5, Rice 2-3 0-1 4, Grizzle 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 30-57 19-24 87.
End of 1st Quarter – UA 22, SLU 12. Halftime – UA 38, SLU 28. End of 3rd Quarter – UA 68, SLU 37. 3-point goals – SLU 5-20 (Sterling 3-5, Francis 1-6, Carrier 1-2, Giaratano 0-4, Horne 0-1, Dugas 0-1, Harvey 0-1), UA 8-17 (Lewis 3-3, Barber 1-3, Walker 1-2, Abrams 1-1, Benjamin 1-1, Cruce 1-1, Johnson 0-2, Davis 0-2, Rice 0-1, Grizzle 0-1). Technical Fouls – None. Fouled Out – None. Rebounds – SLU 28 (Horne 6), UA 49 (Johnson 8). Assists – SLU 8 (Morrison, Horne 3), UA 15 (Johnson 4). Total Fouls – SLU 20, UA 12. A – 1,973.