Balanced effort propels SLU to 77-59 road win at Alcorn State

LORMAN, Miss. – Making her first start of the season, Southeastern Louisiana guard Morgan Carrier scored a career-high 20 points to help the Lady Lions to a 77-59 win at Alcorn State in non-conference women’s basketball action.

The Lady Lions (2-1) built up a 20-point halftime lead and never looked back on the way to their second straight victory. Southeastern held Alcorn State (0-3) to 31.1 percent shooting (19-for-61) from the field and finished with a dominant 53-34 rebounding advantage.

“We did a great job getting the ball inside and that opened up things for our offense,” Southeastern head coach Ayla Guzzardo said. “We shared the ball extremely well and did a great job on help defense. We also crashed the boards hard, which was good to see. This was a great team win.”

Carrier, stepping in for the injured Charliee Dugas, was one of three Lady Lions in double figures. Celica Sterling added 16 points, while Caitlyn Williams finished with 11 points for SLU. Aminat Jubril added nine points off the bench, while Jaclyn Scholvin and Ashailee Brailey chipped in with eight each.

“Morgan shoots with confidence and always has the potential to score in bunches,” Guzzardo commented. “Her defense fueled her offense tonight. She set the tone early for us by taking several charges.”

Scholvin was the Lady Lions’ top distributor with seven assists, while Tyler Morrison chipped in with six dimes of her own. Carrier, Morrison, Williams and Jubril shared team-high honors with eight rebounds apiece. Sterling led the defensive effort for SLU with four steals.

De’Asia Brown led Alcorn State with 19 points. Kirdis Clark and Diamond Hall joined Brown in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Southeastern jumped out to a 5-0 lead on two quick buckets by Carrier to open the game. The Lady Lions maintained the lead, but Alcorn kept within striking distance and trailed just 19-15 after the opening quarter.

The second quarter was all Southeastern. The Lady Lions shot 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the floor, while holding the Lady Braves to 18.2 percent (2-for-11) accuracy. Southeastern outscored Alcorn, 23-7, in the second period to take a commanding 42-22 advantage.

SLU furthered its lead in the third quarter, as Ashailee Brailey scored eight points in the period to stretch the lead to 62-38 heading into the final period. Alcorn got no closer than the final margin of 18 points in the final 10 minutes.

Southeastern will continue its road trip next Tuesday, traveling to SMU for a 7 p.m. contest in Dallas, Texas. The game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Game Day Experience, RadioFX and TuneIn Radio apps. Live stats and video, provided by the hosts, will also be accessible on the women’s basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

Southeastern Louisiana 77 (2-1).
Carrier 7-12 3-5 20, Scholvin 3-5 2-8 8, Morrison 0-6 1-2 1, C. Williams 4-9 3-3 11, Brailey 1-7 5-5 8, Rivers 0-1 0-0 0, Bush 0-1 0-0 0, Sterling 7-13 0-0 16, Jubril 4-7 1-2 9. Totals 28-63 15-25 77.
Alcorn State 59 (0-3)
Clark 3-10, Walker 2-8 1-2 5, Brown 7-12 2-5 19, Hargrove 1-9 0-0 2, Isler 0-2 3-4 3, Patin 1-5 4-6 6, Hood 1-6 0-2 3, Hall 4-9 1-2 10. Totals 19-61 14-25 59.
End of 1st Quarter – SLU 19, ASU 15. Halftime – SLU 42, ASU 22. End of 3rd Quarter – SLU 62, ASU 38. 3-point goals – SLU 6-21 (Carrier 3-7, Sterling 2-5, Brailey 1-6, Scholvin 0-1, Morrison 0-1, C. Williams 0-1), ASU 7-16 (Brown 3-3, Clark 2-4, Hood 1-3, Hall 1-1, Hargrove 0-3, Walker 0-2). Technical Fouls – None. Fouled Out – C. Williams. Rebounds – SLU 53 (Four with 8), ASU 34 (Clark, Hall 7). Assists – SLU 19 (Scholvin 7), ASU 14 (Hargrove 5). Total Fouls – SLU 23, ASU 23. A – 159.

TICKET INFORMATION
For ticket information on the upcoming Southeastern women’s basketball season, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.lionsports.net/tickets.

SEASON OF GIVING
Southeastern Louisiana Athletics, the Southeastern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Office of Multicultural and International Student Affairs will hold a food drive throughout the months of November and December. Fans who bring one of the requested items to the University Center (game day only) or the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics will receive a voucher for a discounted ticket.

All items will be donated to the SLU Food Pantry. Requested items include snack bars, tuna, soup, cereal, pop tarts, macaroni and cheese, cup noodles, pasta, ramen noodles, chili, black beans, red beans, dry beans, peanut butter, jelly, Vienna sausage, rice, instant rice, instant potatoes, microwave meals, fruit cups, mouthwash, shampoo and toothpaste.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Women’s Basketball, follow @SoutheasternWBB on Twitter, like /SoutheasternWBB on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.