Lori Davis Jones is entering her 10th season at the helm of the Southeastern Louisiana University women’s basketball program. During her tenure, the Lady Lions have seen their program continue to improve and grow.
Under the guidance of Jones and her staff, the Lady Lions have won two Southland Conference East Division championships (2006-07, 2008-09). Under Jones, Southeastern has had 14 All-Southland Conference and nine All-Louisiana selections. Six different Lady Lions have earned Academic All-Southland Conference accolades during Jones’ time at the helm of the program.
Jones’ squads have also been very active in the local community, participating in projects such as Habitat for Humanity and Relay for Life. Under Jones, the PRIDE (Positive Role Models in the Development of Excellence) group has been developed, as successful women from the local and campus community serve as mentors for the Lady Lion student-athletes.
Jones took over the reins of the Southeastern women's basketball program prior to the 2002-03 season. In her first year at the helm, she compiled a 7-20 record in her first steps to bringing Southeastern's program back to prominence.
In 2003-04, Southeastern took further steps towards Southland Conference contention, nearly doubling its win total from the previous season. The 2003-04 Lady Lions finished with a 12-15 mark and fell just short of reaching the SLC Tournament for the first time since 2001-02. Under Jones and her staff’s tutelage, junior forward Nakeya Downing was named Newcomer of the Year in both the Southland Conference and the state of Louisiana.
In 2004-05, the Lady Lions finished with a 10-17 record and again narrowly missed a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament. Downing finished her senior season third in the nation in rebounding and was a first-team All-SLC and All-Louisiana selection by the SLC.
2005-06 saw Jones lead the Lady Lions to their first Southland Conference Tournament berth since 2001-02. The Lady Lions rolled off a six-game win streak during the season and picked up road wins at Louisiana-Monroe and Northwestern State for the first time in three decades.
The 2006-07 season saw Jones lead the Lady Lions to new heights, as the team finished with a 17-13 record and won the SLC East Division title. It marked the first winning season for Southeastern since the 1994-95 season and its first conference title in school history. Southeastern placed three players on the All-SLC team – Brenita Williams, Jazmin Cain and Tina Wilson – for the first time since the 2001-02 season. The Lady Lions were also outstanding in the classroom, as Williams, Cain and Brooke Necaise gave the Lady Lions a league-high three players on the SLC All-Academic team.
In 2007-08, Southeastern placed Kristy Carlin and Necaise on the All-SLC team. Necaise became the school’s career leader for three-point field goals made and free-throw percentage, while also setting the school record for three-point field goals in a single season. Necaise also became the school’s first three-time SLC All-Academic selection.
In 2008-09, Southeastern enjoyed its best season of Jones’ tenure, winning their second SLC East Division title in three years and finishing with a 19-11 overall record – the program’s best mark since the 1994-95 season. The Lady Lions’ 11-5 mark in league play was also the program’s best since joining the Southland prior to the 1997-98 campaign. The 2008-09 Lady Lions featured All-Southland performers Carlin and Charinee Mitchell, both who were also named to the Academic All-Southland teams. Southeastern also connected on a school and SLC record 220 three-pointers in 2008-09.
Jones reached a milestone in a 2009-10 season that saw the Lady Lions advance to the SLC Tournament for the fourth time in five years. In a 77-50 win over Central Arkansas, she became the third head coach in the program’s history to reach 100 career wins. Senior Zevy Ivory represented Southeastern on the All-Southland Conference team.
The 2010-11 team advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament for the third consecutive season and the fifth time in the last six years. Senior Rashima Jenkins represented Southeastern on the All-Southland Conference team as a third team selection.
After a successful eight-year stint at Lambuth, where she led the Lady Eagles to unprecedented success, Jones returned to her alma mater with simple goals in moving Southeastern into the upper echelons of the Southland Conference.
Jones, who completed her playing career at Southeastern in 1991, had unparalleled success upon taking over the Lambuth program in 1994-95.
In eight years as head coach, Jones enjoyed seven straight 20-win seasons, four consecutive berths in the NAIA National Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 three times. Her 1998-99 team made its first appearance in the NAIA National Tournament and the 1999-2000 team captured the Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship. The Lady Eagles finished in the top-25 rankings for seven consecutive years under Jones’ guidance, finishing as high as No. 9 in the country.
During her tenure, Jones coached five NAIA All-Americans, one Kodak All-American, four Kodak Honorable Mention All-Americans, six NAIA Academic All-Americans and the 1997 Rawlings/NAIA National Player of the Year Temeka Boga.
Her teams were not only successful on the court but in the classroom as well, having consistently recorded GPAs above 3.0 during her tenure and finishing above the Lambuth campus average.
Jones has also been active in various committees and organizations. She is currently representing the Southland Conference on the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Regional Advisory Committee and is a member of the Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Tasks Force Committee. Jones served for a year as Southeastern’s Interim Senior Woman’s Administrator and is a member of the school’s Steering Committee for Third Cycle NCAA Recertification for Athletics. An active member in the Hammond community, Jones is currently serving on the Hammond Chamber of Commerce Marketing and Membership Committee, after spending four years on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She was also a member of the 2002 Southeastern Louisiana University Women’s Symposium for Female Athletes Committee.
In 2001, she served as theNAIA/Women's Basketball Coaches Association's first Vice President and Mid-South Conference Chair. She also served as the second vice president of the WBCA and the NAIA in 2000, as well as holding the secretary position of both organizations in 1999. She was a member of the NAIA All-American Selection Committee, NAIA National Tournament Committee WBCA Kodak All-America Committee and the WBCA Josten’s-Berenson Service Award Committee. While at Lambuth, she was the chair of the Women’s Symposium for Female Athletics from 1999-2001 and the Coordinator of Women’s Athletics from 1994 –97.
During her high school days, Jones was a four-sport athlete at Silliman Institute in Clinton, La., where she competed in basketball, softball volleyball and track. She decided to stay close to her East Feliciana Parish home and attend Southeastern where she signed a scholarship to play basketball.
As a freshman in 1987-88, Jones led the Lady Lions in rebounds with 6.1 per game and finished her career with 448 rebounds. In her final three seasons, she helped the Lady Lions to 50 wins including an 18-10 record in 1989-90. She also lettered four years in track, earning Women’s Field MVP honors as a senior.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Southeastern in 1992 and a master’s degree in Education from Memphis in 1995.
Jones husband, Brad, is a former head men’s basketball coach at Lambuth and is currently the head coach of the Austin Toros of the National Basketball Association’s Developmental League. Brad previously led the Utah Flash to the 2008-09 NBA D-League West Division Championship and a spot in the league finals. They are the parents of two sons, Justin (14) and Jackson (4), and a daughter, Isabella (9), and they reside in Hammond.
