Second-half slump sinks SLU at McNeese

LAKE CHARLES, La. – McNeese outscored Southeastern Louisiana, 40-17, in the second half to pull away for a 69-47 victory in Southland Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Burton Coliseum.

Southeastern (6-18, 5-8 Southland) led by a point at halftime after an opening 20 minutes that featured four ties and 12 lead changes. However, McNeese (11-12, 7-5 Southland) flipped the script in the second half, holding SLU to 16.7 percent (5-for-30) field gold shooting in the final two quarters.

Sophomore guard Charliee Dugas led SLU with 13 points in the loss, while senior guard Taylin Underwood added 11 points. Underwood now has 1,481 points in her Lady Lion career, moving her past former Lady Lion Rosalind Dees (1,474 points, 1980-84) for fifth place on the school’s career scoring list. Underwood also ran her single-season school record three-point field goal total to 75.

Dugas and freshman forward Caitlyn Williams led SLU with seven rebounds each. Underwood and Scholvin paced the Lady Lions with three steals apiece, as Southeastern forced the Cowgirls into 20 turnovers.

McNeese would get hot from behind the arc, hitting on 10-of-23 three-point field goal attempts. Senior guard Dede Sheppard led four Cowgirls with 16 points, while sophomore guard Caitlin Davis narrowly missed a triple-double with 13 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Regan Bolton added 11 points for McNeese, while senior forward Mercedes Rogers was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Southeastern led 30-29 at the break, but McNeese outscored SLU, 20-11, in the third quarter. Armed with an eight-point lead heading into the final period, the Cowgirls pulled away by scoring the first nine points of the fourth quarter. SLU would get no closer than 13 the rest of the way, as the Cowgirl lead stretched to as many as 24 down the stretch.

Saturday’s game was the first of two straight in-state Southland road contests for Southeastern. On Wednesday, SLU will travel to UNO for a 7 p.m. contest at Lakefront Arena. The game can be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. Live video and stats, provided by UNO, will be accessible on the women’s basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

Southeastern Louisiana 47 (6-18, 5-8 SLC)
K. Williams 1-4 2-4 4, Dawsey 0-3 0-0 0, Carrier 0-4 0-0 0, Dugas 5-12 2-2 13, Underwood 2-12 5-6 11, Bush 0-0 0-0 0, Scholvin 3-9 0-0 6, Morrison 2-6 2-2 7, C. Williams 2-8 0-0 4, Brailey 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 16-63 11-14 47.
McNeese 69 (11-12, 7-5 SLC)
Hudnall 2-9 0-0 5, Bolton 3-6 2-2 11, Jones 3-5 1-2 7, Davids 4-7 3-4 13, Sheppard 6-16 2-2 16, Carswell 1-3 3-6 5, Rivas 0-0 0-0 0, Guidry 0-2 2-2 2, Rogers 4-9 0-0 10. Totals 23-57 13-18 69.
End of 1st Quarter – SLU 16, MCN 13. Halftime – SLU 30, MCN 29. End of 3rd Quarter – MCN 49, SLU 41. 3-point goals – SLU 4-20 (Underwood 2-7, Dugas 1-2, Morrison 1-1, Scholvin 0-4, Carrier 0-3, Brailey 0-2, Dawsey 0-1), MCN 10-23 (Bolton 3-6, Sheppard 2-5, Davis 2-4, Rogers 2-4, Hudnall 1-3, Guidry 0-1). Technical Fouls – None. Fouled Out – None. Rebounds – SLU 39 (Dugas, C. Williams 7), MCN 45 (Rogers 9). Assists – SLU 7 (Morrison 2), MCN 20 (Davis 10). A – 539.