MONTGOMERY, Ala.- The Blue Raider women's basketball team defeated Southeastern (Fla.) 97-68 Saturday afternoon to advance to the NAIA round of 16. 

Jarie Thomas led the offensive brigade with 23 points, connecting on 10-of-13 from the field. Taylor Guess tallied 21 points while Meadow Tisdale added 20. Emily Cox rounded out the double-figure scoring with 13 points.

Tisdale opened the first quarter scoring, knocking down a layup with 9:34 on the clock to lead 2-0 early. At 7:42, Southeastern knocked down a three to spark a 6-2 run to take a 10-6 advantage with 6:14 left in the first. Guess knocked down back-to-back threes to give Lindsey Wilson a 12-10 advantage with 4:42 on the clock. The Blue Raiders closed out the quarter on a 15-6 run to lead 27-16.

Guess and Tisdale opened the second quarter with two consecutive layups to extend the lead to 31-16 at the 8:19 mark. From 8:19 to 1:28, both teams traded buckets with Lindsey Wilson holding on to a 48-29 advantage. Southeastern connected on two more baskets to cut the Blue Raider lead to 50-33 headed into the half. 

Tisdale opened the half with back-to-back layups, increasing the lead to 54-39 with 8:55 on the clock. At 5:23, Saniyah Shelton knocked down a three on an assist from Guess to extend the lead to 63-42. Southeastern outscored Lindsey Wilson 10-2 in the final four minutes of the third quarter, cutting the lead to 71-52 headed into the fourth quarter. 

From 8:16 to 7:24, Southeastern went on a 6-2 run that ended at 7:12 on a jumper from Thomas to push the lead back to 77-60. Guess went to the line at the 6:50 mark to convert on an and-one, extending the lead back to 20 for an 80-60 lead. LWU closed out the game on a 10-0 run to defeat Southeastern 97-68.

Women's hoops will be back in action next week in the NAIA Round of 16 to face the No. 2 seed Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) at 1 P.M. CT on Friday in the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.