HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana women’s basketball program will participate in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and Kay Yow Foundation’s Pink Zone initiative designed to raise breast cancer awareness in conjunction with its Southland Conference contest versus defending league champion UTSA on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the University Center.
The WBCA Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.
The WBCA began the WBCA Pink Zone, formerly known as "Think Pink", in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in communities. The Lady Lions first participated in 2008.
In addition to raising awareness, the goal of the event is to contribute funds to the Kay Yow Foundation, which raises money for awareness and education of the disease. Yow, a former head coach at North Carolina State and the coach of the 1988 United States gold medal winning team, was a champion of breast cancer who lost her fight to the disease, but whose life is honored through the foundation. For more information on the Kay Yow Foundation, visit www.kayyowwbcacancerfund.asp.
The Lady Lions, who will be sporting special pink uniforms, will honor breast cancer survivors at halftime. Fans in attendance are encouraged to wear a pink shirt to the game and the first 500 fans to arrive at the University Center will receive a free t-shirt. Several breast cancer survivors will serve as honorary coaches and be introduced with the team during the starting lineup introductions.
In addition to being honored at halftime, the survivors will have time for fellowship with other survivors pre-game and enjoy refreshments from 2-3 p.m. in the hospitality room courtesy of North Oaks Obstetrics and Gynecology. The survivors and their families will also have free access to all of the day’s activities.
Prior to the 3 p.m. contest, A 5K Fun Run/Walk will be held, beginning and ending in the University Center parking lot. The race begins at 1:30 p.m. with registration starting at 12:30 p.m. The entry fee is $10 and participants will receive a free t-shirt and two tickets to the game.
Senior guard
Kim Edmonson will be Saturday’s Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Many native courtesy of the Southeastern PRIDE (Positive Role-models Involved in the Development of Excellence).
Edmonson has been a key contributor in her two seasons with the Lady Lions. This season, she is third on the team with 7.8 points per game and has hit 34 three-point field goals. Edmonson ranks eighth on the school’s career list with 87 three-point field goals.
Saturday’s game between the Lady Lions (9-11, 3-5 Southland) and the visiting Roadrunners (11-9, 5-2 Southland) will be broadcast on the Internet only at www.LionSports.net.
Southeastern will be looking to bounce back from a 53-44 loss at Texas State on Wednesday. Junior forward
Rashima Jenkins was the lone standout for the Lady Lions, posting her third double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Jenkins averages 9.4 points per game to lead the team, which is averaging 62.3 points per game. Sophomore guard
Kelli Jenkins (8.8 ppg), Edmonson, senior post
Zevy Ivory (7.5 ppg), junior guard
Chelsea Hix (6.6 ppg) and freshman guard
Erica Burgess (6.3 ppg) are the other top scorers for the Lady Lions. Kelli Jenkins currently ranks fourth in the Southland Conference with 4.0 assists per game and is on pace to become the first Lady Lion to top 100 assists in a season since Ann Webster in 2001-02.
In Hix and Edmonson, Southeastern features two of the top three-point shooters in the Southland Conference and in program history. Hix is currently fourth in school history with 102 career treys.
Southeastern is currently third in the Southland Conference with a plus-2.9 rebounding margin and has allowed opponents a league-low 36.7 rebounds per game. Ivory leads the team and ranks 13th in the Southland Conference with 6.6 rebounds per game. Rashima Jenkins is second on the team with 5.7 rebounds per contest. In her fourth season with the Lady Lions, Ivory needs 28 rebounds to become the 14th player in school history to reach 500 career rebounds.
Defensively, the Lady Lions have allowed 63.9 points per game – third-lowest in the Southland Conference. Burgess leads the team with 1.2 steals per game, while Kelli Jenkins is averaging 1.0 per contest. Ivory is fourth in the Southland Conference with 1.0 blocked shots per game, while junior center
Kasia Gawor (0.9 bpg) ranks 10th in the league. Ivory is currently fifth in school history with 77 career blocks.
Southeastern will be facing a UTSA team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, suffering an overtime loss to Baylor in the first round. UTSA is currently third in the Southland West Division after its 74-55 win over Sam Houston State on Wednesday. Freshman wing Judy Jones scored a game-high 26 points off the bench for UTSA, while sophomore guard Whitney York chipped in 16 points and junior forward Ashleigh Franklin pulled down 10 rebounds.
UTSA is averaging 64.9 points per game and has three players averaging in double figures. York (11th, 13.4 ppg) and Franklin (11.4, 19th) both rank among the top scorers in the Southland Conference, while Jones joins them in double figures with a 10.8 point per game scoring average. York leads the team with just under three assists per game, while junior guard Amber Gregg has netted a team-high 34 three-point field goals.
UTSA is averaging 40.0 rebounds per game, but has a minus-2.2 rebounding margin on the year. Franklin (3rd) and Jones (11th) are both among the league’s top rebounders, averaging 8.6 and 7.1 rebounds per contest, respectively.
The Roadrunners are the Southland’s top defensive team, allowing a league-low 61.8 points per game. Jones, York and Gregg all average over a steal per outing. Jones is currently third in the league with 1.0 block per game.
Southeastern is 8-19 all-time versus UTSA and the Roadrunners have won the last three meetings between the two teams. Last season in San Antonio, Southeastern dropped a hard-fought 58-57 decision to the Roadrunners, as then-senior guard and current Director of Basketball Operations Charinee Mitchell’s game-winning attempt rimmed out at the buzzer. The Lady Lions last defeated UTSA during the 2006-07 season, earning a 73-64 overtime win in Hammond.
Following Saturday’s game, Southeastern will take a week off before heading to Thibodaux for a 2 p.m. contest at Nicholls on Feb. 13. The Feb. 13 game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net.