Game Notes

HAMMOND – After taking three of its last four games, the Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team will look to continue its improved play on Saturday, when it travels to face Southland Conference foe Northwestern State at 2 p.m. in Prather Coliseum.
 
There will be no Southeastern broadcast of the game between the Lady Lions (8-14, 3-6 Southland) and the host Lady Demons (5-18, 1-9 Southland). Live stats and audio will be available at www.nsudemons.com.
 
Southeastern will be looking to continue to put its 0-5 start to Southland play further behind. On Wednesday, the Lady Lions outlasted UTSA in a 64-63 thriller, giving Southeastern head coach Lori Davis Jones her 300^th career win as a head coach. Sophomore forward Aja Gibson provided Southeastern with the winning points, giving the Lady Lions for good with a bucket with 35 seconds left.
 
Senior guard Kelli Jenkins led the Lady Lions with 16 points in the win over the Roadrunners. Junior forward Brandi Simmons (14 points), senior guard Latoria Holder (12 points) and freshman guard Elizabeth Styles (10 points) joined Jenkins in double figures. Jenkins also ran the show for Southeastern, leading the way with five assists.
 
Holder had one of the best games of her career in the win over UTSA. The Lumberton, Miss. native narrowly missed her first double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high nine rebounds. She also paced a Southeastern defensive effort that forced 22 turnovers with a team-high three steals.
 
With seven regular season games remaining, Southeastern is averaging 62.6 points per game. Gibson (12.0 ppg, 16^th), Jenkins (10.5 ppg, 18^th) and Simmons (8.4 ppg, 27^th) all rank among the Southland scoring leaders for a balanced Lady Lion offense that has seen eight different players score in double figures this season.
 
Holder (6.9 ppg) and senior guard Jessica Sommers (6.5 ppg) are the other top scorers for the Lady Lions. Sommers is the team's top threat from the outside, ranking among the league's best in three-point field goals made per game (1.5, 9^th) and three-point field goal percentage (29.8, 15^th).
 
A primary factor in Southeastern's turnaround has been the steady play at point guard of Jenkins, who ranks second in the Southland with 4.4 assists per game and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio. The senior from Plaquemine, who is averaging just under six assists per contest against league opposition, ranks fifth in school history with 414 career assists.
 
Though they have been out-rebounded in their last two contests, the Lady Lions are averaging 39.0 rebounds per game and have just a scant -1.3 rebounding margin this season. Simmons (7.2 rpg) and Gibson (7.0 rpg) rank 10^th and 11^th in the league, respectively.
 
Southeastern is allowing 65.7 points and forcing 18.7 turnovers per outing. Holder's 42 steals lead the team and rank sixth in the league. Freshman forward Hillary Shaffer ranks 10^th in the league with a team-high 17 blocked shots.
 
As crucial as Southeastern's win on Wednesday was to its Southland Conference Tournament hopes, it will lose some luster if the Lady Lions can't get past last place Northwestern State on Saturday. The Lady Demons, beset by several major losses to injuries, have lost six in a row coming into Saturday's contest.
 
On Wednesday, the Lady Demons suffered an 82-61 home loss at the hands of Lamar. Junior center Jasmine Upchurch led NSU with 14 points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Ronikka Drake pitched in with 11 points. However, Northwestern State could not overcome 23 turnovers and a 31.3 percent performance from the floor.
                                           
Northwestern State is averaging 65.1 points per game behind senior guard Jordi James (13.6 ppg), junior forward Trudy Armstead (13.0 ppg) and Upchurch (12.0 ppg). Drake leads the team with 3.2 assists per game, while junior guard Meredith Graf (33-for-97) is the team's best shooter from three-point range.
 
NSU is also averaging 42.4 rebounds per game, though opponents are slightly out-rebounding the Lady Demons this season. Armstead (8.9 rpg), Upchurch (8.3 rpg) and Bradley (6.7 rpg) all have been forces on the glass for Northwestern State.
 
Opponents are scoring 72.0 points per game against the Lady Demons, who are forcing 17.6 turnovers per outing. Drake leads the team with 40 steals on the year. Armstead and Upchurch have been effective protecting the rim with 46 and 37 blocked shots, respectively.
 
Southeastern is 15-39 against Northwestern State. Earlier this season, the Lady Lions defeated NSU, 73-66, in the University Center on Jan. 28 behind 20 points and 10 rebounds from Gibson.
 
A win on Saturday would buck several negative trends for Southeastern against NSU. The Lady Lions have not won in Natchitoches since 2005-06, when former All-Southland forward Brenita Williams scored with 0.4 seconds on the clock to give the Lady Lions a 46-45 win. Since joining the Southland prior to the 1997-98 season, Southeastern has never swept the season series versus NSU.
 
Following Saturday's contest, Southeastern will return home for three of its next four games. On Wednesday, the Lady Lions host Lamar at 7 p.m. in the University Center in a game set to be broadcast on the Internet only at LionSports.net. Simmons will be Wednesday'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.