FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. &ndash Freshman Haleigh Bryant scored a 39.600 in her all-around debut to lead the fifth-ranked gymnastics team to a 197.275-196.625 victory over No. 6 Arkansas Friday night inside Barnhill Arena. The Tigers improved to 2-0 on the year and 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference regular season standings. The squad&rsquos team score was a season high and the third-highest score in the country in 2021. Bryant made her debut in the all-around and shined for the Tigers with a 9.85 on vault, career high 9.90 on bars and beam, and 9.95 on floor. Bryant&rsquos all-around score marked the third highest in the nation this season. &ldquoWe got off to such a strong start on bars from an execution standpoint,&rdquo head coach Jay Clark said. &ldquoWe had some diversity tonight and did not let up. Some of the girls had tough spots to be in and it didn&rsquot faze them. We have plenty of places to improve, but to go on the road for the first time and get a 197 score is really important.&rdquo Underclassmen Deliver to Start StrongWith four of six underclassmen in the Tigers&rsquo bars lineup they delivered with huge scores to start LSU&rsquos meet strong. Kiya Johnson and Bridget Dean each opened up with a 9.825. Freshmen Olivia Dunne and Bryant then each scored a career high 9.90. Alyona Shchennikova rebounded from her season opener with a 9.925 and Sami Durante closed out the event with a 9.875. Vault Extends Lead at Halfway PointLSU put up a solid 49.100 on vault to take a 98.525-97.800 lead over the Razorbacks. Elena Arenas opened with a 9.800 and Shchennikova and freshman Chase Brock followed with a 9.825. Sarah Edwards scored a 9.80 and Bryant earned a 9.85 in the anchor spot. Bryant, Johnson One-Two Punch Lead FloorThe Tigers scored a solid 49.375 on floor to extend their lead. Dean opened with a 9.75 and senior Reagan Campbell scored a 9.85. Edwards matched her season high with a 9.875 and Bryant and Johnson ended the rotation with a 9.95 for the floor win. Beam Clinches the WinIn a last second switch on beam for Christina Desiderio, Arenas answered the call and opened the beam lineup with a 9.825 for a career high. The lineup continued to build and after Durante&rsquos 9.85 the trio of Bryant, Dean and Campbell ended the night with a 9.90 to seal the SEC win. Next UpLSU returns home to take on Georgia in the PMAC at 7:15 p.m. CT Friday. The meet will be televised on the SEC Network.Permalink Comments
The Southeastern Louisiana football team opened its preseason preparations for the 2021 spring season on Friday afternoon at Strawberry Stadium.Southeastern opened spring practice with a workout just under two hours. Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo was pleased with his team&rsquos performance in its first official practice ahead of next month&rsquos season opener.&ldquoWe came out here with the right energy and effort for the first practice,&rdquo Scelfo commented. &ldquoThose are things we shouldn&rsquot have to coach and we didn&rsquot have to today. Our guys were champing at the bit to get out there and compete, which was awesome to see.Scelfo also observed some of the typical first-practice mistakes that will need to be corrected moving forward.&ldquoWe were definitely sloppy at times,&rdquo Scelfo said. &ldquoWe had some issues with the snap count and jumping offsides, as well as a few busted assignments. Those kind of mistakes are expected this early in practice, especially with all the excitement about getting back to playing. But those mistakes are easy to fix and we&rsquoll get them corrected. When we have to worry is when the energy level and the desire to put in the effort to get better every day isn&rsquot there, but we don&rsquot have to worry about that.&rdquoSLU is scheduled to open its six-game, conference-only spring schedule on Feb. 27 at Sam Houston State. The Lions host McNeese on March 6 at Strawberry Stadium to open its home schedule. Permalink Comments
The LSU Lady Tigers needed overtime to hold off the 7 Texas A&M Aggies 65-61 on Thursday night in the Maravich Center.LSU dominated for the majority of the game, building a 17 point lead however Texas A&M continued to bite into that lead eventually overtaking the Tigers in the final minute of play.With just ten seconds remaining in the game, Khayla Pointer found Faustine Awfuwa who banked in a shot to tie the game up at 54 and push play to the extra frame.LSU outscored the Aggies 11-7 in overtime to bring home the upset. More information from the LSU release can be found below:The LSU women&rsquos basketball team used an impressive 26-7 run across the first two quarters Thursday en route to an overtime victory over the seventh-ranked Texas A&M Aggies inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, 65-61.LSU moves to 5-5 on the season and 3-2 in the SEC. Texas A&M collects its first loss of the season falling to 12-1. They also have their first loss in the SEC, sitting at 3-1 after tonight&rsquos game.The Tigers brought a tenacity on the defensive side early, holding the Aggies to their lowest scoring total in the first half this season at 26.Texas A&M jumped out to the early lead at 10-8, but LSU was able to curtail the momentum the Aggies gained for the majority of the game leading for three quarters.Sophomore Tiara Young continued to shine, collecting a career-high 20 points and four rebounds. Senior Karli Seay showed off her relentless attitude when it comes to defense. She finished with five steals on the night accompanied with eight points, four rebounds and three assists Redshirt-senior Faustine Aifuwa contributed at a high clip, collecting another double-double, her sixth of the season and the 15th of her LSU career. She finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.Senior Khayla Pointer had a night to remember, showing off her skills on both sides of the floor. She collected 17 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. With this performance, she keeps climbing the LSU career assists list, currently sitting at No. 8 with 394. Pointer surpassed former Tiger Rhonda Hawthorne 391 1982-86 LSU shot 48.3 from the floor, while the Aggies struggled from the field, shooting 39.7.Permalink Comments
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced its preseason football poll during the Cricket Wireless SWAC Football Virtual Media Day on Thursday with the Alcorn State Braves and Southern Jaguars tabbed to once again win their respective divisions. Alcorn State will look to claim its seventh consecutive divisional title during what will mark the Braves final season competing in the SWAC East division. Last season Alcorn State won its fourth league championship in six seasons with a 39-24 win over Southern. Alabama A&M was picked to finish second in the division followed by Alabama State, Jackson State, and Mississippi Valley State.  In the SWAC West division the Southern Jaguars will seek their third consecutive divisional title and eighth overall. While also looking to capture their first league championship since 2013. Grambling State, which claimed league titles in 2016 and 2017 was tabbed to finish second followed by Prairie View A&M, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Texas Southern.  The upcoming season is slated to kickoff next month with each league team playing six conference games highlighted by four games against division opponents and two games against non-division opponents. The season will culminate with the Cricket Wireless SWAC Championship Game. The game is scheduled to be played on Saturday, May 1.        Predicted Order of Finish   SWAC Eastern DivisionAlcorn State 93 14Alabama A&M 77 4 Alabama State 63 1Jackson State 60 1 Mississippi Valley State 37 SWAC Western Division Southern 90 14 Grambling State 86 4 Prairie View A&M 67 2 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 46Texas Southern 311st Place Votes Permalink Comments
The LSU Tiger basketball team missed their first couple of shots, but didnt miss many more afterwards.LSU used a 40-6 run in the first half of Wednesday nights game to defeat Arkansas 92-76 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.The Tigers led it 51-31 at the first half break and then held off a Razorback surge in the second half to bring home their fourth SEC win of the season.LSU improves their record to 9-2 and 4-1 in conference action.Below is more information from an LSU Sports release:LSU was led by Sophomore Trendon Watfords 23 Points, and 10 Rebounds. Freshmen Cameron Thomas contributed 17 Points and 3 Assists. Junior Darius Days posted a Double-Double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.JD Notae led Arkansas with 22 points and 5 Rebounds.The Tigers will play South Carolina back in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Saturday, January 16th at 7:30 PM. CT. Permalink Comments