Hammond, La. ? Junior forward Ashli Jackson (Opelika, Ala.) scored a season-high 16 points to lead four scorers in double figures, but it wasn't enough as the Stetson women's basketball team (1-4) fell 66-60 at Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday evening. Senior point guard Sharnesha Smith (Kingsland, Ga.) notched six assists and became the eighth player in program history to record 300 or more career assists.
Although each half broke down in favor of the Lady Lions (2-2) by identical 33-30 margins, Stetson fought back from a 10-point deficit with 5:19 to go with a 7-0 charge that brought it within three points with one minute remaining. Freshman guard Jessica Bivins (Orlando, Fla.) sank a bucket while being fouled and made the ensuing free throw to make it a 63-60 ballgame. It was also Bivins, who scored five of the team's seven points down the stretch, who grabbed the rebound on a Quantae Thomas miss to give Stetson the ball with a chance to tie in the final 30 seconds. Unfortunately for the Hatters, SLU's Charinee Mitchell came up with a huge steal, forcing Stetson into fouling mode the rest of the way.
The Lady Lions made just three of six free throws down the stretch, but that proved to be enough as the Hatters could not dent the scoreboard any further. After a two-game stretch in which it surrendered 92.5 ppg against in-state powers USF and Florida, Stetson's defense stiffened immeasurably in the second half tonight as Southeastern Louisiana did not collect a field goal for the final 7:22 of the ballgame.
Jackson hit on three of six three-point field goal attempts and made five of six free throws en route to her season-high scoring total. Sophomore guard Tierra Brown (Orlando, Fla.) scored 11 points with three assists while Smith added 10 points to her six assists. The A-Sun's co-leader in assists per game coming into the game (4.5 apg), she finished the night with 303 career helpers. Bivins finished with 10 points, reaching double figures for the fourth consecutive outing, grabbing a career-best four rebounds in the process. Senior center Ayesha Barkley (East Orange, N.J.) scored six points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Thomas and Chelsea Hix scored 12 points each to lead Southeastern Louisiana to its second straight home win after a 66-46 rout of North Florida on Saturday. Bethany Sinclair had 10 points and eight rebounds while Kristy Carlin tallied a game-high nine boards.
The Hatters are off for the next 10 days to celebrate Thanksgiving and get some much needed rest after playing five games in the season's first 12 days. Next up is the team's Atlantic Sun conference opener when Florida Gulf Coast comes to the Edmunds Center for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off Thursday, December 4. The game will be the opener of a doubleheader with the FGCU-Stetson men's basketball game to follow immediately afterwards. Live stats and Hatter Vision will be available for both games next Thursday with Bill Topping and Dee Romine on the broadcast for the women's contest at www.GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson Athletics.
