HAMMOND – For the first time since the 2002-03 season, the Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team will host a Southeastern Conference foe, as Alabama will visit the University Center on Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest.

Saturday's contest will be broadcast in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net, where live in-game statistics will also be available.

The Lady Lions (7-4) head into Saturday's contest with a perfect 6-0 home mark and will be looking to start the season with seven home victories for the first time since the 1990-91 campaign. Alabama (11-3) enters the game on a five-game winning streak. The Crimson Tide is the first SEC member to visit Hammond since LSU came to the University Center during the 2002-03 season.

Southeastern is coming off one of its top efforts of the season, as the Lady Lions rolled past Alcorn State, 74-40, on Tuesday night.

In Tuesday's victory, Southeastern senior forward Kristy Carlin and junior guard Kim Edmonson led the team with 14 points each. The Lady Lions are currently fourth in the Southland Conference with 65.3 points per game. Carlin ranks fourth in the Southland Conference with 14.4 points per game and is one of three Lady Lions – along with Edmonson (9.5 ppg) and junior wing Quantae Thomas (8.6 ppg) – in the league's top 30.

Southeastern connected on eight-three pointers in the victory and continues to be extremely productive from behind the arc. The Lady Lions are tops in the Southland Conference with 7.4 three-pointers per game and a 34.2 three-point field goal percentage.

Edmonson leads the SLC with 2.4 treys per contest and is one of three Lady Lions – along with Thomas and senior guard Charinee Mitchell – ranked in the SLC's top 10 in terms of three-point field goals per contest.

Southeastern hit 73.7 percent (14-for-19) from the free-throw line on Tuesday. The Lady Lions rank second in the SLC with a 71.2 free throw percentage this season, led by Carlin's SLC-best 84.2 success rate from the charity stripe. 

In the rout of Alcorn State, Southeastern dished out a season-high 19 assists, led by Mitchell's five dimes. Freshman guard Kelli Jenkins leads the team and is 10^th in the Southland Conference with 3.0 assists per game, while Mitchell (2.7 apg) is 14^th in the SLC. Southeastern is second in the SLC in assist-to-turnover ratio and Jenkins is fourth in that category.

The Lady Lions were able to hold Alcorn State to 40 points – the second-lowest single-game point total allowed by a Southland Conference team this season – thanks in large part to a career-high three blocked shots by junior forward Zevy Ivory. Southeastern is second in the league with 58.5 points allowed per contest and leads the SLC with a plus-6.8 scoring margin per outing.    

Southeastern has been one of the top rebounding teams in the SLC throughout the season, as they out-rebounded Alcorn State, 49-33. Carlin has led Southeastern in rebounding in all 11 games in 2008-09 and is fifth in the SLC with 8.8 boards per game.

The Walker native is nearing a significant career milestone, needing 17 points to reach 1,000 career points. Carlin has already reached 500 career rebounds and will become the 11^th player in school history to reach both figures.

Carlin will be hard pressed to reach that number against the Crimson Tide. Alabama has won its last five contests, extending that winning streak with an 81-75 victory over Ball State in the finals of the Crimson Tide Holiday Classic. Sophomore forward Tierney Jenkins leads the team with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the latest win.

Jenkins, who has not started a game this season, is the lone Alabama player scoring in double figures, leading the team with averages of 11.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest. Freshman guard Ericka Russell (8.8 ppg), sophomore guard Alyson Butler (7.4 ppg) and junior guard Dedrea Magee (7.2 ppg) are the other top scorers for the Crimson Tide, which is averaging 69.1 points per game as a team. Sophomore guard Daleisha Carn leads the team with 3.6 assists per game.

Alabama has allowed its opponents 60.1 points per outing and head into Saturday's game with a plus-9.0 scoring margin. The Crimson Tide has also had a notable rebounding margin, out-rebounding opponents by an average of nearly six boards per outing.

Alabama will be the third Southeastern Conference opponent Southeastern has faced this season. The Lady Lions dropped decisions at Ole Miss (85-73) and LSU (65-40) earlier this season. Southeastern's last victory over an SEC opponent was a 84-61 win over Mississippi State in Hammond during the 1994-95 season.

Alabama will be meeting a Southland Conference opponent for the second time this season. On Dec. 7, Alabama rolled past Sam Houston State, 90-50.

Southeastern is 2-4 all-time versus Alabama, including 2-0 in Hammond. The two teams have met each of the past three seasons in Tuscaloosa, with each game being decided by 10 points or less. Last season, Alabama defeated Southeastern, 61-51, despite a 13-point, 10-rebound performance by Ivory.