Lady Lions take big home conference win over HCU

HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champions Southeastern Louisiana University women’s basketball team finished with a 60-40 victory over HCU in the Pride Roofing University Center Saturday afternoon to close out week seven of conference play.

Graduate transfer Kennedy Paul led all scorers with a season-high 22 points to aid the Lady Lions (15-9, 11-2 SLC) in securing the win over HCU (6-18, 1-12 SLC). Paul brought a spark off the bench shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 50.0 percent from the three-point line.

Junior Taylor Bell (11 points) also followed up in double digit scoring with five rebounds to end the matchup. Bell has claimed six league games in double-digit scoring and shot 5-9 from the field this afternoon. Junior transfer Arianna Patton (nine points) shot 2-2 from beyond the arch alongside 60.0 percent from the field to help Southeastern build its 20-point lead over the Huskies.

The Lady Lions pushed to 12-2 in league play after a 18-9 scoring run in the third quarter to end the matchup with a 20-point lead. Southeastern dominated in the paint with a 30-16-point advantage in paint points while its bench boosted a second half surge adding 37 points in the contest. SLU also ruled the boards out rebounding HCU 42-23 with 10 points coming from second chance opportunities.

Southeastern came out flat but regrouped late in the quarter to secure an eight-point lead to end the first quarter 14-8. Paul and Bell scored all 14 of the Lady Lions first quarter points to build some momentum going into the second quarter. SLU gained a 10-8-point advantage over HCU in the second quarter to continue its momentum with its best eight-point scoring run, 24-16.

HCU could not get much going offensively as Southeastern held them to 32.6 percent shooting. Senior guard Kennedy Wilson (11 points) carried the Huskies shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 66.7 from the free throw line. N’Denasija Collins, Jo Oly and Tove Caesar tied with six points as Oly led the team with six rebounds. The Huskies forced the Lady Lions into 18 turnovers capitalizing off 14 points, but could not keep a consistent flow of momentum to cut into the deficit.

SLU came out with energy in the third quarter compounding its lead with a commanding 19-8-point advantage to end with a 17-point lead, 42-25. The Lady Lions shot 57.1 percent from the field in the third quarter claiming ten points of playmaking in transition led by Jalencia Pierre with four assists.

The Lady Lions controlled the majority of the game winning every quarter by a decent margin. Southeastern obtained a 26-point lead late in the fourth quarter as SLU finished another quarter shooting above 50.0 percent from the field to achieve the win.

Southeastern will remain at home for its upcoming matchup Feb. 24 against the New Orleans Privateers at 1 p.m. Saturday’s matchup will recognize the 2023-24 Lady Lion seniors for Senior Day as they will be honored during halftime of the double-header. Lady Lions fans are encouraged to stay to welcome a new class of Lions for Life and thank them for their time in Hammond, America. Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive.

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

TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.

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