Southeastern women’s basketball entered the contest vs. Houston Christian at 6-5, coming off beating Nicholls in its conference opener on New Year’s Eve in Thibodaux. 

Their Southland record went to 2-0 last night after a 63-58 victory over HCU as the Lady Lions moved to 7-5 on the year, remaining a perfect 4-0 at home. 

SLU exploded out of the blocks to a 24-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The next 10 minutes saw Coach Ayla Guzzardo’s side extend its advantage to 40-19 at halftime. 

However, a pesky Huskies team would not go away and came out a different side in the third period of play. Houston Christian outscored Southeastern 19-11, making the score 51-38 to get within striking distance entering the fourth. 

Still, with a double-digit lead and one more quarter to go, it seemed like a win was inevitable for the Lady Lions. 

Nearly nine minutes later, HCU’s Marilyn Nzoiwu’s converted jumper made it a one-possession game for the first time since SLU led 4-2 a minute and 31 seconds into the first quarter. 

Southeastern was suddenly clinging to a 61-58 lead, with 1:07 still to play. 

Hailey Giaratano turned the ball over with less than 10 seconds to play, but she promptly stole it back to avoid disaster for the Lady Lions.

After a Houston Christian foul, SLU inbounded to none other than Giaratano. The junior guard from Ponchatoula put the game on ice with a wide open layup as the Husky defense broke down at the worst possible time. 

The Green and Gold held on for a 63-58 win but it was much closer than one would’ve thought after halftime.

Next, Coach David Kiefer’s team took to the court following the Lady Lions’ triumph to face the Huskies for their conference home opener. 

Entering the contest 0-1 in the Southland and 6-8 overall, Southeastern was in search of a needed victory against HCU. 

They got just that with a fairly comfortable 71-59 win to cap off a Green and Gold night at the UC. 

The Lions never trailed in the game and took a 33-27 lead into the halftime locker room. 

The Huskies fought back to within a basket (47-45) with 9:37 to play, but SLU switched to second gear and embarked on a 14-2 run over the next 4:48, taking a 14-point edge with under five minutes to go.

Southeastern won by double-digits and moved to 7-8 on the campaign and an even 1-1 in conference play. 

Senior transfer guard Boogie Anderson led the way with 22 points – one shy of his season-high of 23 back in mid-November vs. Kennesaw State. 

Fellow backcourt mate and portal guard Alec Woodard added 12 points, all via three-point land, as well as six rebounds. 

Next up for both squads is a battle with the Lamar Cardinals in the University Center today. 

The ladies tip-off at 1 p.m., while the men’s game will follow suit at 3:30 p.m. as SLC competition begins to heat up.