Box Score



NATCHITOCHES – Junior forward Brandi Simmons scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Southeastern to a 79-70 Southland Conference victory over Northwestern State Saturday afternoon at Prather Coliseum.
 
The win allowed Southeastern (9-14, 4-6 Southland) to further put its 0-5 start to league play behind it, as the Lady Lions have now won four of their last five games. The loss was the seventh straight for an injury-riddled Northwestern State team (5-19, 1-10 Southland).
 
Southeastern ended several trends on Saturday in Natchitoches. The win was the Lady Lions' first in Natchitoches since the 2005-06 season. Southeastern's two wins in 2011-12 over the Lady Demons marked the first time the Lady Lions have swept NSU since joining the Southland Conference prior to the 1997-98 season.
 
Simmons was one of two Lady Lions to record a double-double on the day, as senior guard Kelli Jenkins added 13 points and a game-high 10 assists. Simmons and Jenkins were among four Lady Lions in double figures, as senior guard Latoria Holder (12 points) and freshman guard Elizabeth Styles (10 points) also contributed to the Lady Lion output.
 
“Brandi stepped up big for us today,” Southeastern Louisiana head coach Lori Davis Jones commented. “Hillary (Shaffer) and Latoria hit back-to-back threes down the stretch that were huge to allow us to hold them off. We made some changes defensively at halftime that helped, because Northwestern State gave us problems in the first half.”
 
Jones was also proud of her team's abilities to bounce back from an eight-point deficit. The 10^th-year Lady Lion head coach believes her team seems to be coming together after the lackluster start to Southland Conference play.
 
“We're finding way to battle through adversity and get the job done,” Jones commented. “Eight or 10 games ago, I don't know if our team was tough enough to rally back. We're starting to become tougher and gaining a better understanding of what it takes to be successful, which is encouraging.”
 
Southeastern was able to overcome several impressive Northwestern State performances. NSU guard Jordi James led all scorers with 32 points to go with eight assists. The Lady Demon post tandem of Jasmine Upchurch (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Trudy Armstead (13 points, 12 rebounds) each posted double-doubles.
 
However, Southeastern forced Northwestern State into 20 turnovers, which proved to make the difference. The Lady Lions finished with 10 steals, as Holder led the way with three, followed by Simmons and sophomore forward Aja Gibson with two apiece.
 
Northwestern State led 36-30 at the break and a three by Ronikka Drake pushed the lead to 48-41 with 13:58 left in the game. However, Southeastern answered with a 13-0 run over the next four minutes. A three by senior guard Jessica Sommers capped the rally and put the Lady Lions up, 54-48, with 9:45 left.
 
NSU came back with five points of its own to cut the Lady Lion lead to 54-53. Simmons put the lead back to four with a three-point play and consecutive treys by Shaffer and Holder fueled an 11-2 Southeastern run that put Southeastern up, 65-55, with 4:49 left. Northwestern State got no closer than four the rest of the way.  
 
Southeastern will return home on Wednesday to host Lamar at 7 p.m. in the University Center. Wednesday's game will be broadcast on the Internet only at www.LionSports.net. Simmons will be Saturday's Spotlight Player of the Game and the first 100 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Jackson, Miss. native courtesy of the Southeastern PRIDE.