Southeastern Louisiana Athletics

HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana women’s basketball team will look to continue to climb in the Southland Conference East Division standings on Saturday, when it meets division leader Stephen F. Austin at 3 p.m. in the University Center.

The Lady Lions (8-9, 2-2 Southland) and visiting Ladyjacks (8-7, 3-1 Southland) will be meeting for the first time this season with Southeastern returning the trip on Feb. 20. Saturday’s game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net, where live stats will be available. The Southeastern Channel will also televise the game on a tape-delayed basis.

Junior center Rachel Mackie will be Saturday’s Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Arlington, Texas native courtesy of the Southeastern PRIDE (Positive Role-models Involved in the Development of Excellence).

After starting a team-high 22 games as a freshman, Mackie has settled into a key reserve role in the post. This season, she is averaging 4.1 rebounds per game – good for third on the team. A nursing major, Mackie has consistently been one of the team’s top performers in the classroom since coming to Hammond from Mansfield Summit High School, where she was coached by current UT Arlington head coach Samantha Morrow.

The Lady Lions pulled off an impressive comeback on Wednesday, bouncing back from a sluggish first half to earn a 60-52 win over McNeese State. The Lady Lions shot 56 percent (14-for-25) in the second half and erased a 12-point deficit. The Cowgirls held Southeastern to 8.7 percent (2-for-23) from the floor in the opening half and held a 19-9 halftime lead.

Junior forward Rashima Jenkins posted her second straight double-double in Wednesday’s win with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Bossier City native was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Kelli Jenkins (12 points) and junior guard Chelsea Hix (10 points). Kelli Jenkins also led the Lady Lions with four assists.

On the year, Southeastern is averaging 64.1 points per game and is 8-1 when scoring 60 points or more on the year. Rashima Jenkins leads the team with 9.3 points per game, including a 15.5 point per game scoring average in conference play. Senior guard Kim Edmonson (8.9 ppg), Kelli Jenkins (8.5 ppg), senior post Zevy Ivory (7.1 ppg), Hix (7.1 ppg) and freshman guard Erica Burgess (6.0 ppg) are the team’s other top weapons. Kelli Jenkins leads the team with 4.4 assists per game, while Burgess is averaging 2.6 assists per contest.

Hix and Edmonson combined for five three-point field goals in Wednesday’s win. Edmonson pulled Southeastern within one at the four-minute mark with her third trey of the game and a long triple by Hix gave Southeastern the lead for good just two minutes later. The pair of outside threats is tied for eighth in the Southland with 31 three-point field goals on the year and both rank among the school’s career leaders in three-point field goals made.

Behind the efforts of Rashima Jenkins, Southeastern held a 41-33 rebound advantage over the Cowgirls. The Lady Lions are allowing opponents a league-low 36.1 rebounds per game and come into the game with a plus-3.6 rebounding margin. Ivory leads the team – which is 8-2 when out-rebounding an opponent – with 5.7 rebounds per game, followed by Rashima Jenkins (5.5 rpg) and Mackie (4.1 rpg).

McNeese State was the eighth team Southeastern held to 60 points or less this season and the Lady Lions are 7-1 when holding an opponent under that mark. Southeastern is allowing 64.1 points per game and forcing 18.7 turnovers per game. Point guards Burgess (1.1) and Kelli Jenkins (1.1) are the team leaders in steals per game. Ivory leads the team with 14 blocks and the Shreveport native is sixth in school history with 71 career blocked shots.

The Southeastern defense will face a tough test against an explosive SFA team. The Ladyjacks will be looking to bounce back from an 85-79 win at UT Arlington on Wednesday. Senior guard Whitney Cormier (15 points), junior guard Ebony Alexander (13 points), junior forward Antoinette Davis (13 points) and junior guard Decreasha Goodner (11 points) gave SFA four players in double figures. Cormier also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, but the Ladyjacks were out-rebounded, 48-40.

SFA leads the Southland with 77.8 points per game – including an 89.8 point per game average in league play. Cormier (14.6 ppg) and junior forward Jordan Ford (10.7 ppg) are averaging double figures, while sophomore guard Courtney Conwright (9.7 ppg), Davis (9.5 ppg) and sophomore guard Tammara Marion (9.1 ppg) are just short of that mark. Alexander is second in the Southland with 5.5 assists per game.

Stephen F. Austin is leading the Southland Conference with 45.7 rebounds per game, but is being out-rebounded by 1.7 boards per game. Davis leads the team with 6.6 boards per contest, followed closely by Ford with 6.3 rebounds per outing.

The Ladyjacks are near the bottom of the Southland Conference in scoring defense, allowing 73.7 points per contest, but their relentless pressure defense has allowed them to force 24.9 turnovers per game. SFA leads the league with 12.5 steals per game, led by Cormier with 2.2 steals per outing. Cormier also tops the team with 0.8 blocks per contest.

Stephen F. Austin leads the all-time series between the two teams, 25-5. Southeastern won the Southland East Division a season ago, but SFA swept the season series with two wins by a combined eight points. The Ladyjacks have won the last five meetings and Southeastern’s last win against SFA came in 2004-05 when the Lady Lions swept the season series.

Following Saturday’s game, Southeastern will hit the road, heading to Central Arkansas for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net.