Second act: Lions dominate second half
Published 7:00 pm Thursday, February 25, 2021
- Photo Credit
Warren Arceneaux
Breonca Ducksworth and Chrissy Brown scored 14 points apiece to lead Southeastern Louisiana to a 65-49 Southland Conference victory over McNeese State Wednesday night at Burton Coliseum to extend the Lions’ winning streak to five games.
Natalie Kelly recorded a double-double of 10 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Lions, who put the game away by outscoring the Cowgirls 40-16 in the second half, breaking the game open with a 22-8 advantage in the third quarter.
Cold second-half shooting doomed McNeese. The Cowgirls shot 4 of 28 from the floor in the second half and missed all eight three point attempts.
The win moved the Lions (9-6, 8-4 SLC) ahead of the Cowgirls (6-11, 6-4), who have lost of their last three games, in the Southland standings with four regular-season games remaining. SLU avenged an 80-72 home loss to McNeese on Jan. 20.
Three Southwest Louisiana products reached double figures for the Cowgirls (6-11, 6-4), Kyla Hamilton (Westlake) and Divine Tanks (Barbe) had 12 points each and Claralee Richard (Sulphur) had 10 points.
Kelly scored all of her points in the decisive second half, including seven during an 11-0 Lions run early in the third quarter. Brown scored eight points in the third quarter as the Lions constantly worked the ball inside.
“Kelly gave us trouble, she was beating us to spots, then on the other end she was altering shots when we got into the paint,” said Cowgirls coach Kacie Cryer.
“Brown did a good job of getting to the rim.
“We took some quick shots and that allowed Southeastern to get back into the game.
“We were going back and forth for a while, but when Southeastern made their run, their energy took over and we were never able to match it.”
SLU outscored McNeese 34-22 in the paint.
The Lions scored 16 second-chance points while limiting the Cowgirls to one. The Lions’ also owned and advantage in bench points, outscoring McNeese 21-5.
McNeese closed the first half with a 15-4 run to take a 33-25 halftime lead. Hamilton and Tanks each scored five points in the run, which was highlighted by a nice pass from Hamilton to Tanks after a Hamilton spin move to get past a Lions defender.
Hamilton had eight points and six assists in the first half. The Cowgirls had 10 assists on 13 field goals in the half and shot 50 percent from the floor.
Kirk Meche / Special to the American Press
