On Jan. 30, the Lady Lions (17-3, 11-0 SLC) remained on top of the SLC after a historic win against Lamar (14-5 9-1 SLC),  60-48. 

In the first period, Lamar fought to hold a seven-point lead, but Southeastern clawed its way back with a suffocating defense to tie the game at 14-14 by period’s end.

Throughout the first half, the Lady Lions’ defense forced three turnovers and capitalized by scoring layups. Senior guard Arianna Patton hit a three to secure a 27-24 lead heading into halftime.

Graduate student guard Alexius Horne reflected on the team’s defense in the first half. 

“We just stuck to our defense. That’s our motto, and that’s how we get going. We were able to get those easy layups and major turnovers making those points in transition; that’s what we kept doing,”  Horne said. 

After halftime, junior forward Lexi Alexander started the third quarter strong, extending the lead with four points. The Lady Lions would force five more turnovers—each converted into points—adding 10 of their 21 third-period points. Southeastern would finish the period with double the total Lamar scored.

Entering the fourth quarter, the energy from the crowd was electric. The fans knew that a Southeastern victory was imminent. Horne and junior guard Allasia Washington put on a last-minute clinic, combining for an additional 12 points that ended Lamar’s winning streak and gave the Lady Lions their 11th consecutive win.

With Alexander’s four third-quarter points, she reached the 1,000-career-point milestone, and Horne’s clinic in the fourth allowed her to follow suit. Together, they became the first two players in Southeastern’s women’s basketball history to reach this mark.
“We’re a team of runs. We got after it on the defensive end and had easy buckets on the offensive end. At one point, we were only scoring the ball in transition. We forced 19 turnovers and had 12 steals, and that’s big for us” Guzzardo said.

The Lady Lions are currently playing against the UNO Privateers in a defensive slugfest at the University Center. Tune in on ESPN+ or listen to it on 90.9 The Lion. As always, visit The Lion’s Roar for more articles and sports coverage.