HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team will return home for the first time in nearly a month on Tuesday, hosting in-state foe Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. in the University Center.

The game between the host Lady Lions (7-3) and the visiting Ragin' Cajuns (7-5) will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net, where live stats will also be available. The meeting will be the second of 2010-11 between the two teams, as Louisiana-Lafayette took a 67-57 win over Southeastern back on Dec. 5 in Lafayette. Southeastern is 4-0 at home this season and haven't played in the University Center since a 72-69 win over Jackson State on Nov. 23.

The Lady Lions will celebrate with Holiday Hoops Fest, as gifts from “Roomie” Claus will be given away and fun holiday-themed promotions will be held throughout the game. In addition, junior guard Jessica Sommers will be the Spotlight Player of the Game and the first 100 fans will receive a trading card featuring Sommers, courtesy of the Southeastern PRIDE.

Sommers, in her first season with the Lady Lions out of Temple Junior College, has been a key reserve for Southeastern. The San Antonio, Texas native is second on the team with seven three-point field goals and is averaging 4.3 points per game.

Southeastern won its second straight game on Saturday, closing out a season-long five-game road swing with a 65-55 win at Centenary. Playing just minutes from her home, Bossier City native and Lady Lion senior forward Rashima Jenkins led Southeastern with 15 points, while freshman forward Aja Gibson and junior guard Kelli Jenkins added 10 points each.

Kelli Jenkins also keyed Southeastern's defensive effort, tying a career-high with a game-high four steals. In all, the Lady Lions scored 14 points off 23 turnovers by the Ladies.

Through 10 games, Southeastern is averaging 65.7 points per game. Rashima Jenkins leads the team with 9.5 points per game, followed by Gibson (8.9 ppg), Kelli Jenkins (8.6 ppg), senior guard Chelsea Hix (7.2 ppg) and junior guard Latoria Holder (7.2 ppg).

Kelli Jenkins has also been the team's top distributor, ranking fourth in the Southland with 4.4 assists per game. The Plaquemine native is currently ninth in school history with 256 assists. Hix, who is 11th in the league with 1.9 three-point field goals per game, is among the school's career leaders in three-point field goals made (132, 3rd), three-point field goals attempted (364, 3rd) and three-point field goal percentage (.363, 6th).

Southeastern continues to lead the Southland with a 41.5 field goal percentage as a team. Rashima Jenkins and Gibson sit in a tie for second in the league with a 51.4 field goal percentage. Kelli Jenkins is 13th in the Southland with a 41.4 field goal percentage.

The Lady Lions also top the league with a plus-5.5 rebounding margin. Rashima Jenkins leads the team and ranks eighth in the Southland with 6.9 rebounds per game. Senior center Rachel Mackie is also among the league leaders with 5.9 rebounds per contest (14th).

Defensively, Southeastern is holding opponents to 64.3 points per game and forcing 21.7 turnovers per contest. Holder (2.2 spg, 7th), senior guard Mary Fountain (2.1 spg, 8th) and Kelli Jenkins (1.8 spg, 11th) are all among the Southland steal leaders. Holder leads the team with seven blocked shots.

Like Southeastern, Louisiana-Lafayette comes into Tuesday's game on a two-game winning streak. On Sunday, the Ragin' Cajuns rolled to an 80-63 home victory over UNO.

In that win, senior forward Lyndra Bell led Louisiana-Lafayette with a game-high 19 points. Junior forward Mercedes Johnson finished with a double-double with 17 points and 19 rebounds, while senior guard Jasmine Barnes added 10 points.

The Ragin' Cajuns are averaging 69.8 points per contest. Johnson leads the team with 14.1 points per game and is joined in double figures by Barnes (10.2 ppg). Bell (8.9 ppg) and junior guard Danyell Oliver (8.7 ppg) are the other top scorers for Louisiana-Lafayette.

Junior guard Nicole Morris is the team's top distributor. Morris, a Cypress, Texas native, leads the team with 2.1 assists per game.

Louisiana-Lafayette is averaging 38.2 rebounds per game and is being out-rebounded by 2.0 rebounds per contest. Johnson (6.4 rpg) and Barnes (5.3 rpg) are the team's top rebounders.

Defensively, Louisiana-Lafayette is holding opponents to 62.4 points per game and forcing 22.3 turnovers per contest. Oliver leads the team with 17 steals, while junior center Kemi Rotibi has blocked a team-high 17 shots.

Southeastern is 28-11 all-time versus Louisiana-Lafayette. Southeastern swept the season series a season ago, but Louisiana-Lafayette took this season's first meeting.

In that loss, the Lady Lions were unable to overcome a 24-point first-half deficit in the loss to the Ragin' Cajuns. Bell was one of three players in double figures with a game-high 18 points to lead Louisiana-Lafayette.

For Southeastern, Rashima Jenkins had 13 points, while Sommers chipped in with 11 points of the bench in the loss. Fountain, Mackie and Rashima Jenkins had eight rebounds apiece for Southeastern, as the Lady Lions finished with a 54-24 rebounding advantage.

Tuesday's game will be Southeastern's final non-conference home game and its final contest of the 2010 calendar year. Southeastern will be back in action on Jan. 3, facing Tulane at 7 p.m. in New Orleans.