Lady Lions end skid with convincing 76-61 victory at HBU

HOUSTON, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana junior guard Jaclyn Scholvin and senior guard Taylin Underwood each scored 20 points to lead the Lady Lions to a 76-61 road victory over Houston Baptist in Southland Conference women’s basketball action Wednesday evening at the University Center.

The Lady Lions (2-15, 1-5 Southland) snapped a 10-game losing streak with the win, as Southeastern won its first Southland Conference game under first-year head coach Ayla Guzzardo. SLU’s rookie head coach saw something she and her staff has been looking for in the victory over the host Huskies (5-11, 1-5 Southland).

“The main thing that has been missing for us is we haven’t been able to play a complete 40 minutes,” Guzzardo commented. “We did that tonight and that was the difference. We knew that HBU always plays extremely hard and we’re proud that we weren’t out-fought and out-hustled. We had some individuals step up in a big way tonight, but it was definitely a total team effort.”

Scholvin, making her first start of the season, scored the first 13 points of the game for SLU, setting a new career-high for scoring in the first seven minutes of Wednesday’s contest. However, the Huskies closed out the opening quarter on a 10-2 run to enter the second quarter with a 16-15 lead.

Sophomore guard Britta Daub scored the first bucket of the second period for HBU, but Underwood exploded for 10 points during a 16-2 run that gave Southeastern a commanding 31-20 lead with 4:46 left in the first half.

The Huskies cut the lead to seven on a three by junior guard Amanda Johnson in the final seconds of the half, but Lady Lion sophomore guard Courtney Dawsey drew a foul at the buzzer and sank a pair of free throws to send the Lady Lions into the break with a 38-29 lead.

Southeastern put HBU away early in the third quarter. Underwood and Scholvin combined for the first five points of the period to push the SLU lead to 14 just over a minute into the half. The Huskies would get no closer than 12 the rest of the way, as the Lady Lions grew their lead to as much as 18 and were never threatened over the final 20 minutes.

Scholvin nearly doubled her career high with her effort on Wednesday, while Underwood matched her for team-high honors. Sophomore guard Charliee Dugas added 12 points off the bench to give SLU a trio in double figures.

Freshman forward Caitlyn Williams led the Lady Lions with eight rebounds, followed by Underwood (seven rebounds) and sophomore guard Tyler Morrison (six rebounds). Morrison finished with a game-high six steals, as the Lady Lions tied a season-high with 15 steals, thanks in large part to the efforts of Morrison and junior guard Ashailee Brailey (four steals). Morrison also led SLU with four assists.

HBU sophomore guard Sydney Carr led the Huskies with 21 points and was joined in double figures by Amanda Johnson (10 points). Sophomore forward Lauren Calver and sophomore guard Britta Daub each had seven rebounds to lead the Huskies. Daub also was credited with a game-high six assists.

Southeastern will return home to host Northwestern State for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday in the University Center. The game, which is the opener of a doubleheader in the UC that includes a 5 p.m. men’s game between the Lions and Demons, will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream at www.LionSports.net/watch.

Southeastern encourages all fans to wear their gold for the Gold Out in conjunction with Saturday’s doubleheader versus Northwestern State. The first 75 fans at the women’s game and the first 100 fans at the men’s game will receive a free gold t-shirt courtesy of Southeastern Athletics.

Also on Saturday, the women’s program will also host its Alumni Reunion in conjunction with its game versus the Lady Demons, as all former Lady Lions are invited to be recognized at halftime. A 1 p.m. reception for all women’s basketball alumni will be held in the St. Tammany Room. For more information on the Alumni Reunion, contact Assistant AD for Marketing and Development Tom Dawsey at tdawsey@selu.edu or (985) 549-5226.

Dawsey 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 Hammond, Louisiana native courtesy of PRIDE.

Southeastern Louisiana 76 (2-15, 1-5 SLC)
C. Williams 3-7 1-2 7, Brailey 0-4 0-0 0, Underwood 7-15 3-4 20, Scholvin 7-16 4-5 20, Morrison 0-3 1-2 1, K. Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Dawsey 0-3 3-5 3, Carrier 1-1 1-2 4, Dugas 5-9 1-2 12, Francis 3-9 1-3 7, Bush 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-69 15-25 76.
Houston Baptist 61 (5-11, 1-5 SLC)
A. Johnson 2-14 5-6 10, Calver 3-3 2-4 8, Taylor 1-12 2-2 5, Daub 1-3 3-4 5, Carr 8-8 5-6 21, Jones 1-5 2-5 4, B. Johson 0-1 0-0 0, Valdez-Crader 1-3 0-0 2, Kirienko 0-3 0-0 0, Collins 2-3 1-2 6. Totals 19-55 20-29 61.
End of 1st Quarter – HBU 16, SLU 15. Halftime – SLU 38, HBU 29. End of 3rd Quarter – SLU 56, HBU 39. 3-point goals – SLU 7-20 (Underwood 3-6, Scholvin 2-5, Dugas 1-3, Carrier 1-2, Francis 0-2), HBU 3-12 (Taylor 1-6, A. Johnson 1-3, Collins 1-1, Jones 0-2). Technical Fouls – None. Fouled Out – None. Rebounds – SLU 39 (C. Williams 8), HBU 45 (Calver, Daub 7). Assists – SLU 12 (Morrison 4), HBU 9 (Daub 6). Total Fouls – SLU 24, HBU 19. A – 314.