LAKE CHARLES, La. – A 15-0 run in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference in Monday's Southland Conference Tournament first round game as the fifth-seed Northwestern State Lady Demons used the scoring run to end the eight-seed East Texas A&M University women's basketball team's season with a 69-56 loss at the Townsley Law Arena.
 
The Lions end their season with a 13-17 record, going 9-13 against Southland opponents during the regular season. The Lady Demons secured their first ever postseason win over the Lions and advance in the SLC Tournament with an overall record of 18-13.
 
Northwestern State faces UTRGV in the quarterfinal round of the Southland Tournament on Tuesday.
 
The first 10 points of the game were exchanged by the two teams, but then a 15-2 run by the Lions put them ahead 20-7 at the 2:09 mark of the first, their largest lead in the game. In the final 8:32 of the quarter, the Lady Demons were held to just five points.
 
In the second, the Lions had a 24-12 at the 8:18 mark, but then a scoring drought of over five minutes allowed the Lady Demons to cut it to within six. The Lions outscored the Lady Demons 8-5 in the final 3:02 of the half to lead by nine at the break.
 
Another five-minute scoring drought in the third quarter allowed the Lady Demons to cut the deficit all the way down to two. The Lions entered the fourth quarter with a one-point lead and scored the first basket of the period, but then a 15-0 run put together by the Lady Demons put them ahead by 12 and they did not trail again in the game.
 
Tiani Ellison (Durant, Okla.) came off the bench and led the team with 15 points, while Nina Horvath (Oberwart, Austria) also added 12 points off the bench. Ahmya Boyce (Newport News, Va.) scored 13 and Cora Horvath (Oberwart, Austria) finished with 10 for the Lions.
 
For the Lady Demons, Vernell Atamah, the Southland Player of the Year, scored 19 points in 25 minutes.
 

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