The Lady Lions basketball team landed a close win of 78-68 on the court for their season opener against Mobile.
Junior guard Symone Miller and sophomore forward Nanna Pool helped lead the team face off against opponents University of Mobile on Friday, Nov. 8.
“What is good about tonight is we battled. You didn’t have Liz and you didn’t have Aja most of the game. So that’s two starters.  So we had one starter on our court with a bunch of new players. That’s what you had out there,” said Head Coach Lori Davis Jones.  “So I thought tonight was a great opportunity to battle, to figure people out, to put new players in tough situations. So just thank goodness for Symone and Nanna, and even Aja ended up with a double double. They got the job done.”
Mobile started the game with a 5-0 lead, but the Lady Lions soon gained the lead and held it for the rest of the game.  
Miller achieved a career high of 35 points for the Lady Lions, and Pool finished with a double double.  
“The ending [stood out the most] because we needed a big bucket, and we worked together so well that we came together to be able to put out a win in the end,” said Miller.
Despite success in the opening game, the Lady Lions commented on needed strengths for the rest of the season.
“The biggest thing we need to strengthen would be to communicate more so we know when the person wants the ball or when they don’t.  Just communication,” said Miller. “This is the first game so we’re still learning, still trying to get that chemistry so I feel like as we keep progressing we’ll get better, and it’ll go better.”
Several new players joined the team this season, creating different dynamics and leaders. With things changing also on the court, Jones said they should not waver at a sudden sub of players.
“When we lose Aja or certain returners, we got to be able to maintain the level of play. When we sub, we got to find that level of competition we can play at and execute,” said Jones.
The Lady Lions’ next four games will be on the road, starting at Southern in Baton Rouge.  
“It’s the schedule.  We got to do what we got to do.  We got to play on the road,” said Jones.  “We know we are going to be home twice before January 9, and the biggest strategy we got to recognize is that we got to get better as we are on the road and continue to grow our game in any environment.”
The Lady Lions’ games are broadcast live on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on www.lionsport.net.  
“Continue to come out and support them,” said Jones.  “We work hard every day.  We sacrifice a lot to be a division one athlete.  There’s a lot of perks that obviously go with it, but we work hard everyday, and we need our students, we need our fans, we need people to come out and cheer us on and give us our edge in games like this, give us our push when the other team closes the gap.”
The Lady Lions basketball team will travel for their next few games. The Lady Lions’ next game will take place at the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.