Southeastern defeats UIW in triple overtime

HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champions Southeastern Louisiana University women’s basketball team secured a record breaking 93-86 triple overtime win over UIW in the Pride Roofing University Center Thursday evening.

The dynamic duo of senior guard Hailey Giaratano (27 points) and sophomore Jalencia Pierre (19 points) combined for 46 points to help Southeastern (12-8, 8-1 SLC) propel to 8-1 in conference play over the Cardinals (11-8, 4-4 SLC). Giaratano collected a career high shooting 55.0 percent with seven rebounds while Pierre shot 65.2 percent from the field to close out the game.

Junior transfer Cheyanne Daniels (13 points) also followed up in double digit scoring to lead the team with nine rebounds. Daniels finished 4-8 around the rim alongside shooting 83.3 percent from the free throw line.

SLU came out to a 9-2-point run before UIW recovered to achieve a 21-15-point advantage to end the first quarter. Southeastern moved on to win the next two quarters with a two-point advantage, 51-49. The Lady Lions reclaim their dominance with 40 points in the paint along with a 17-8-point advantage over UIW off second chance opportunities.

The Cardinals tied the fourth quarter 64-64 with a 15-13-point advantage shooting 75.0 percent from the three-point line to force the game into overtime. Senior guard Nina De Leon Negron and Aliyah Collins tied with 22 points to carry the Cardinals throughout the matchup. De Leon Negron secured a double-double with 12 rebounds along with seven assists to finish the game shooting 56.6 percent from the field. Collins shot 57.1 percent from the three-point line coupled with Chloe Storer (12 points), Myra Bell (10 points) and Jorja Ellliott (10 points) to also contribute double digit scoring for UIW.

Southeastern gained a spark in the first overtime, but allowed UIW to capitalize with a 21-7-point advantage off fast break opportunities to tie once again the game, 70-70. The Cardinals would face a crucial disadvantage in the second overtime with two key players (Destiny Terrell and Collins) fouling out for SLU to gain the momentum off free-throws by Pierre to tie the game back up, 82-82.

The Lady Lions took control of the matchup in the third overtime with a 11-4-point advantage on the backs of Giaratano, Pierre and Allasia Washington (eight points) to earn their best scoring run of nine points to secure a 93-86 win at home. SLU received 24 points from its bench to contribute balanced scoring throughout the game.

Southeastern will be back in the Pride Roofing University Center Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in a rematch against McNeese. Junior transfer Cheyanne Daniels will be the Spotlight Player of the Game for the matchup. The first 150 fans will receive trading cards of the junior, courtesy of PRIDE. Lady Lion fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness month as all breast cancer survivors will be recognized during halftime. Saturday’s matchup 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.