Southeastern women’s basketball (6-7, 2-0 SLC) defeated UNO (4-9, 1-1 SLC) on the road 57-44 Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6) in the Big Easy. 

The reigning Southland Conference champions flexed their muscles in the fourth quarter, overwhelming the Privateers. 

SLU’s cagey defense shined once again, holding UNO to just two points on 1/13 shooting while forcing five turnovers. 

Two points is the least allowed by the Lady Lions in a quarter all season.

Southeastern outscored UNO 16-2 in a truly dominating period of what the Lady Lion faithful has come to know and love as Coach Ayla Guzzardo basketball.

Junior guard Arianna Patton led the way for the Green and Gold with 12 points, the most she’s scored since making her way to Hammond, America.  

The Jones College transfer shot an efficient 5/7 from the field including 2/3 from three point land. 

Senior guard Hailey Giaratano scored 11 points, joining Patton as the only two Lady Lions in double figures. The Ponchatoula product dished a joint team-high four assists and paced Southeastern in blocks with two.

Three SLU players finished with nine points, including Cheyenne Daniels, Taylor Bell and Kennedy Paul. 

Paul also tied a career-high in rebounds, grabbing nine for the afternoon. The Prairie View A&M transfer and Brusly native narrowly missed out on her first ever collegiate double-double. 

Bell added seven boards and a career-best five steals, which led all players in the contest.

Despite ultimately winning by 13, Southeastern got out to a slow start in New Orleans. 

Through the first quarter of play, the Privateers held an 11-6 advantage. 

The second quarter saw SLU climb back into the game and the scoreboard read 20-20 as the clock hit triple zeros in the first half. 

After a low-scoring affair through the opening 20 minutes, the preceding ten resulted in a sudden scoring outburst from both sides. 

Southeastern and UNO produced more points in the third quarter alone than either team had in the entire first half of action. 

The Privateers 4-0 run over the final 1:41 of the third period gave them a 22-21 edge for the quarter and a 42-41 lead heading into the fourth. 

From there it was all SLU; the Lady Lions feasted on their opponents en route to their second straight SLC victory, kickstarting their title defense in style. 

Next up is a home encounter against a streaking Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (9-4, 2-0 SLC) bunch. The Islanders are winners of six straight and are unbeaten in conference play to begin 2024. 

A siege at the top of the Southland standings will ensue tomorrow night (Jan. 11) at 6 p.m. in the Pride Roofing University Center.  

The battle will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and radio listeners can tune in to 90.9 The Lion.

As always, for more Lady Lions basketball coverage, stay posted to The Lion’s Roar.