Women's Basketball

Fifth-seeded A&M-Commerce rallies in fourth quarter for 79-66 win over eighth-seed Northwestern State in first round of Jersey Mike's Southland Women's Basketball Championship pres. by LouisianaTravel.com

LAKE CHARLES, La. – The fifth-seeded A&M-Commerce Lions pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat eighth-seeded Northwestern State, 79-66, in the first round of the 2023 Jersey Mike’s Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by LouisianaTravel.com on Monday afternoon.
 
The Lions outscored the Lady Demons 26-9 in the fourth quarter to move their record to 13-18 overall and face fourth-seeded UIW in the quarterfinals at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Northwestern State’s season ends at 11-18.
 
DesiRay Kernal led the Lions with a 27-point, 15-rebound double-double to lead three Lions in double figures. Mia Deck netted 17 points and Laila Lawrence had 14 points and nine boards. A&M-Commerce held a plus-24 rebound margin at 45-21.
 
For the Lady Demons, Jiselle Woodson scored 32 points and tied the SLC Tournament record with seven made three-pointers. Her 87.5 percent (7-of-8) three-point percentage sets a tournament record. Candice Parramore had 10 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
 
A&M-Commerce led for most of the first quarter and held an 18-15 lead after 10 minutes thanks to an 8-2 run late in the period.
 
The Lions led by as many as eight with just under six minutes left in the second quarter before Woodson’s three-point barrage put the Lady Demons back into the contest. Four of her three-pointers came in the second quarter and teammate Sharna Ayres’ triple in the final minute gave NSU a 38-37 halftime lead.
 
The teams traded buckets in the third, with NSU slowly pulling ahead and taking its largest lead of the game with 2:14 to play in the period at 56-49. The Lady Demons led 57-53 with 10 minutes remaining.
 
A&M-Commerce flipped the scoreboard immediately int the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run capped by a Kernal three-point play. After Woodson’s record-tying three-pointer with 5:13 to go put the Lady Demons back up 63-62, but NSU was held to one field goal the rest of the game. The Lions closed the game on a 16-4 rally to pull away and pick up the program’s first-ever Southland Tournament victory.
 
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