The Lady Lions suffered their second Southland Conference loss at the hands of the Lamar Cardinals (17-5, 11-1 SLC) 67-60 on Thursday night at the Pride Roofing University Center.
Cardinals’ guard Sabria Dean had 16 points, eight boards and six assists to complete the sweep over SLU. Lamar and Southeastern are the only teams in the SLC to eclipse 11 wins in conference play.
With the loss, the Green and Gold fall to 15-9 with an 11-2 SLC record.
Senior guard Hailey Giaratano dropped 11 out of her 17 points in the second half to try and overcome a 20-point deficit, but to no avail. Sophomore guard Allasia Washington and junior guard Mackenzie Thomas combined for 18 points on a perfect 7-7 shooting to support Giaratano’s efforts.
Both powerhouses entered the matchup on burners — the Green and Gold had won four straight games and 11 out of their last 12, while the Cardinals had won six straight.
LU now possesses the No. 1 seed and the longest winning streak in the SLC.
The Lady Lions had a chance to even the season series at 1-1, but with a poor offensive outing in the second quarter, their chances looked dim. Lamar outscored SLU 17-6 and forced Southeastern to shoot an abysmal 25% in the quarter.
The Cardinals took a 35-21 lead heading into halftime, and after three quarters, LU took a commanding 56-36 lead over the defending SLC champions.
The Lady Lions showed resilience in the fourth quarter by pouring in 24 points on 8-14 shooting (57.1%) and held Lamar to just 11 points on 3-11 shooting (27.3%). After a made jumper from sophomore guard Jen Pierre, the Cardinals only had a five-point lead at 63-58 with 1:15 left to play.
However, SLU’s valiant fourth-quarter comeback wasn’t enough to make up for past mistakes. The Green and Gold will look to rebound against the Houston Christian Huskies (6-17, 1-11 SLC) this afternoon, Feb. 17, at the PRUC.
The lowly Huskies sit near the bottom of the SLC in ninth place. The Lady Lions will look to get back in the winning column before entering a week-long break.
Tune in on ESPN+ at 1 p.m. to watch the game live. As always, visit The Lion’s Roar for more information and coverage on Lady Lion basketball.
