Fast start propels SLU to 79-54 road win at Prairie View

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana University jumped out to a 15-0 lead and never looked back on the way to a 79-54 victory over Prairie View in nonconference women’s basketball action Friday night at the William Nicks Building.

SLU (3-5) snapped a three-game losing streak with its second road victory of the season. The host Lady Panthers dropped to 2-6 overall with the loss.

Southeastern shot 56.1 percent (32-for-57) from the floor, as four Lady Lions finished in double figures. SLU was led by Hailey Giaratano with 18 points, while Breonca Ducksworth (16 points), Caitlyn Williams (15 points) and Morgan Carrier (11 points) joined her in double figures.

Williams posted her second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds, posting her fourth straight game with double-digit boards. Southeastern dished out a season-high 25 assists, as Cierria Cunningham led the Lady Lions with nine assists.

Southeastern limited the hosts to 32,8 percent (19-for-58) from the floor. Kennedy Paul led the Panthers with 15 points off the bench, while Gerlyn Smith finished with a game-high 12 rebounds and four assists.

The Lady Lions scored the game’s first 15 points and shot a blistering 64.7 percent (11-for-17) from the floor in the opening period. SLU’s 23-10 lead at the end of the first quarter grew to as much as 19 in the second quarter, as Southeastern took a 35-19 lead into halftime.

Prairie View would get no closer than 12 in the second half, as Southeastern’s advantage grew to as many as 27 in the final minutes.

Southeastern will take over a week off before closing out its nonconference home schedule with a 1 p.m. contest versus William Carey on Saturday, Dec. 11 in the University Center. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive. Morgan Davis will be the Spotlight Player of the Game for the contest versus William Carey and the first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Orlando, Florida native, courtesy of PRIDE.

Southeastern 79 (3-5)
Carrier 3-9 2-2 11, Williams 6-6 3-4 15, Cunningham 2-4 0-0 4, Ducksworth 8-12 0-1 16, Giaratano 7-8 4-4 18, Brown 0-3 0-0 0, Harvey 1-5 0-0 2, Horne 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly 1-2 2-2 4, Bell 1-3 0-2 2, Bradford 0-1 0-0 0, Brumfield 3-4 1-2 7, Flowers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-57 12-17 79.

Prairie View 54 (2-6)
Heard 0-3 1-2 1, Smith 3-9 2-4 8, Soders 2-4 2-2 6, Benson 3-7 2-2 8, Rosenthal 3-12 2-4 9, Clark 2-9 1-1 6, Paul 6-14 0-2 15, Charles 0-0 0-0 0, Garner 0-0 0-0 0, Simon 0-0 1-2 1, Patton 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-58 11-19 54.
End of 1st Quarter – SLU 23, PVAMU 10. Halftime – SLU 35, PVAMU 19. End of 3rd Quarter – SLU 54, PVAMU 35. 3-point goals – SLU 3-14 (Carrier 3-6, Harvey 0-4, Ducksworth 0-1, Giaratano 0-1, Brown 0-1, Bell 0-1), PVAMU 5-24 (Paul 3-7, Rosenthal 1-5, Clark 1-4, Smith 0-3, Heard 0-2). Technical Fouls – None. Fouled Out – None. Rebounds – SLU 42 (Williams 11), PVAMU 30 (Smith 12). Assists – SLU 25 (Cunningham 9), PVAMU 13 (Smith 4). Total Fouls – SLU 18, PVAMU 17. A – 227.

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