The Lady Lions and Lions basketball teams hosted William Carey and Louisiana College in a pre-Thanksgiving matchup that saw continued improvement from both squads.
The Lady Lions (3-2) opened the night with a 91-69 trumping of the William Carey Lady Crusaders. Junior forward Aja Gibson and sophomore guard Symone Miller who combined 35 points led the team in scoring. As a team, the Lady Lions were up as much as 21 points in the first half, but let the lead slip down to seven in the second.
 “The challenge was to keep our energy up and establish a half court dominance defensively,” said head coach Lori Davis Jones.
While not completely satisfied with her team’s performance, Jones was satisfied to get the win. The game marked continued improvement for a young squad that only has two seniors.
Freshman forward Nanna Pool earned 13 rebounds while fellow freshman Erica Hernandez scored 11 points.
“The freshman that are coming in are wanting to score, wanting to get better. They come in ready to compete especially Nanna. She is helping us on the post,” said Gibson.
The Lady Lions were unable to continue their success on the road against undefeated Alabama on Sunday, losing 97-62.
For the men, their match was marked by the continued emergence of junior forward Antonnio Benton in the Lions’ 91-49 victory over Louisiana College. Benton posted his second career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
“I just try to bring energy to the team and I think that’s kind of my part, that’s my role and I understand that,” said Benton. “With me understanding my role, it will help my team, better my team.”
As a team, the Lions (1-3) racked up 25 assists out of 37 field goals. Benton and junior guard Jeremy Campbell combined for 30 points with senior forward Roosevelt Johnson adding 12 of his own.
“You can’t let your team be average,” said head coach Jim Yarbrough on his team’s performance. “That’s what you’re always fighting.”
The Lions play their next game against Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La. before returning home on Dec. 1 against Southern Missouri. The Lady Lions play their next two games away against University of New Orleans (UNO) and Florida A&M, but return home on Dec. 12 to play UNO for a second time.