Lady Lions push past the Panthers behind huge second half

Troy Allen

Southeastern freshman guard Jalencia Pierre attempts fast-break layup against the Prairie View Panthers. (Dec. 13th, 2022)

Following a loss to LSU, the Lady Lions bounced back versus the Prairie View Panthers in an 84-57 victory. 

This win puts Southeastern at 5-3 on the overall season and an impressive 3-0 at home to start the year.

Senior Guard Chrissy Brown led Southeastern in points and rebounds; she had twenty points and twelve boards on 8-10 shooting (4-4 from the free throw line). 

Following Brown were junior guards Alexius Horne and Hailey Giaratano. The duo combined for twenty-nine points on 11-21 shooting.

After a close first half, with the score 34-31, the Lady Lions dominated the second half of the ballgame 50-26. SLU scored 28 points in the third quarter while shooting 58.8% from the field. They followed up their third-quarter performance with twenty-two points on 53.3% in the fourth. 

Overall, SLU shot 55.6% from the field, and were able to generate fifty points in the paint; their paint pressure allowed them to shoot twenty-eight free throws, making 20 of them.

“In the first half, we got complacent offensively. We were trying to score on the perimeter — we needed to be inside the paint. Everything we do needs to be downhill and attacking the basket. We got more aggressive in the third and fourth quarters, and we put a lot of pressure on them to guard us,” Head Coach Ayla Guzzardo said. 

Defensively, the Green and Gold held the Panthers to 21-57 (36.8%) on the night and 9-28 (32.1%) from three.

Southeastern also forced 25 turnovers and converted them into 35 points. 

During the fourth quarter is when SLU’s defense shined. They held Prairie View to 3-15 shooting from the floor and 1-6 from behind the arc. 

“We played well enough to win a conference championship, and we must build on that. We have a very athletic, smart, and talented basketball team that we’re going to lean on,” Guzzardo said. 

The Green and Gold will build upon their second-half performance and look to string together a couple of wins as they go on the road. 

The Southeastern Lady Lions will start their three-game road trip against Alabama on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. Tune in on SECN+ to catch the game live.