Nov. 13, 2009

Box Score

Dallas, Texas - Friday the 13th was a Texas struggle for LMU, who started slowly and was unable to recover, dropping its season opener 78-58 at SMU on Friday evening at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. The Lions (0-1) were led by junior Renahy Young's 14 points in their first-ever meeting with the Mustangs (1-0) and the first of two trips this season out of the Pacific time zone.

Young, scored 12 of her points in the first half to try to help the Lions weather the early Mustang attack. Sophomore Candice Nichols added 11 points and senior Jenna Sybesma, in her first game action in over a year, chipped in eight points and five rebounds. The Lions also got an outstanding collegiate debut from freshman Camille Buckley, who grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end, to go along with five points.

LMU shot 34.9% (22-for-63) overall, 23.5% (4-for-17) from three-point range, and 45.5% (10-for-22) at the free throw line. The Lions did hold a 42-41 rebounding edge, which included 19 offensive rebounds.

Five SMU players reached double figures, led by Christine Elliott's 18 points, 16 in the first half, on 8-for-11 shooting. Brittany Gilliam had 11 points, six assists, five rebounds, and three steals while Raquel Christian and Jillian Samuels each also contributed 11 points. Haley Day came off the bench for 10 points and nine rebounds.

SMU did most of its damage in the first half, shooting 56% in the opening 20 minutes en route to 50.8% (30-for-59) overall. The Mustangs were 7-of-16 (43.8%) from byond the arc and 11-for-18 (61.1%) at the line.

SMU went inside early to Elliott for two quick baskets and started the game on a 9-2 run. Young knocked down a three-pointer to bring the Lions back but that's when the Mustangs took off, embarking on a 20-0 run as the Lions went cold. Seven turnovers and a 3-for-12 start from the floor didn't help LMU. Neither did Jillian Samuels' hot shooting as she knocked down two threes and converted a conventional three-point play in a two-minute span to cap the run with a 29-5 advantage.

Nothing was going right for the Lions in the first half. As much as Young did to pull LMU back, scoring seven straight points, the Lions had no answer for Elliott. SMU's center finished the half with 10 consecutive points to send the Mustangs into the locker room with a 45-21 advantage.

The halftime break seemed to settle the Lions, who outscored SMU 37-33 in the second half and cut down on the turnovers. LMU came out and made five of its first seven shots of the second half, with six different players scoring in the opening seven minutes. The problem was that the Mustangs were also hitting their shots. Luck just wasn't with the Lions as it seemed like every loose ball took a Mustang bounce.

With seven minutes left, LMU finally got something going with Sybesma and its inside game. After missing all of last season due to injury, Sybesma connected on three consecutive baskets as part of a 10-0 run to give the Lions some hope but it was too little, too late.

The Lions head back to Southern California to complete their season-opening two-game road trip on Monday night at Long Beach State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.