After losing their first game at home on Jan. 22, the Lady Lions looked to continue their winning ways on the home court versus the Sugar Bears of Central Arkansas. The Lady Lions entered the night on a two game losing streak and trying to avoid losing consecutive home games since Jan. 19, 2008.

The Lady Lions got off to an intense start coming out running and keeping the game close. The two teams traded baskets early, but the Lady Lions trailed 10-12 with 11:55 remaining in the first half. With the game so close, Coach Lori Davis Jones went to her bench early and often. Throughout the game, the Lady Lions had 10 different players score points.

“We’ve haven’t had as balanced attack scoring as we have had tonight in a long time,” said Lady Lions Head Coach Lori Davis Jones. Junior transfer guard Jessica Sommers was key as she came off the bench and hit a 3-pointer that gave the Lady Lions a 15-14 lead a halfway through the first period.

“We feel like we have a pretty good offensive system to where everybody has good opportunity,” said  Davis Jones. “Jessica did a good job coming in.”

Sommers led all Lady Lion scorers with 13 points off the bench and was a big part in the Lady Lions’ first half efforts to keep the game tight. Southeastern managed to knot the game up 21-21 with 07:21 remaining in the first half, but a late push by the Sugar Bears would send the Lady Lions into halftime down 31-36.

The early intensity was present coming out of the locker room. After a jumper from senior forward Rashima Jenkins, a steal at mid-court by senior guard Chelsea Hix who finished with 11 points, led to a nice driving left handed finish by junior guard Kelli Jenkins, pulling the Lady Lions to within three with 15:47 left to play.

“Everybody was a lot more keyed in on doing what we were supposed to do tonight,” said Davis Jones. “We played with a lot of energy and urgency.”

The Lady Lions would go on to fall behind by seven with 09:09 left to play but they made their defensive presence late. The Lady Lions went on a 6-0 run with 06:25 left in the game. With 01:47 remaining Kelli Jenkins was put on the foul line with the Lady Lions down 61-62 and the opportunity to give them the lead. Jenkins would knock down one of two to tie the game giving the Lady Lions life. With hustle, Hix managed to come up with a loose ball at the top of the key and knocked down her third 3-pointer of the night tying the game at 65 all with 46 seconds left. However, the Sugar Bears’ Herbert scored three points in the final 20 seconds of the game to seal a 65-69 victory.