HAMMOND, La. – The real season begins on Saturday for the Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team, as it hosts defending Southland Conference regular season champion Abilene Christian for a 12 p.m. contest to open league play in the University Center.
 
The game between the Lady Lions (2-9, 0-0 Southland) and the visiting Wildcats (6-6, 0-0 Southland) will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream of Saturday's game at www.LionSports.net/watch.
 
Sophomore guard Ashailee Brailey will be Saturday's Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the newcomer from Abbeville, Louisiana courtesy of PRIDE.
 
Southeastern closed out non-conference play on a six-game losing streak. The Lady Lions were overwhelmed by Florida, 102-51, on Wednesday, as the Gators finished with a 64-20 scoring advantage in the paint and forced SLU into a season-high 33 turnovers.
 
All 10 Lady Lions scored in a balanced effort in the loss to Florida. Sophomore forward Baylie Stears and freshman guard Courtney Dawsey shared team-high honors with eight points apiece, while junior guard Bre Warren and freshman guard Charliee Dugas chipped in with seven points apiece.
 
Junior guard Taylin Underwood added six points for Southeastern. The Livingston, Louisiana native also led SLU with six rebounds, five assists and three steals in the loss.
 
Underwood leads the Lady Lions and ranks among the Southland Conference leaders with 15.4 points per game. Dugas (8.5 ppg), Warren (6.9 ppg), freshman guard Taz Stinson (5.5 ppg) and Brailey (5.0 ppg) round out the team's top five active scorers. Underwood also leads the team with 2.7 assists per game.
 
Rebounding has been an issue throughout the season for the Lady Lions, as they are averaging 30.8 rebounds per contest and enter conference play with a minus-15.6 rebounding margin. Underwood and Stinson share the team lead with 4.5 rebounds per game each.
 
Defensively, the Lady Lions are yielding 85.0 points and forcing 18.6 turnovers per contest. Warren leads the team with 15 steals, followed by Underwood (13), Dugas (12) and Stinson (11).
 
Abilene Christian is coming off a 2015-16 season in which it finished 26-3 overall and 17-1 in Southland Conference play to win the Southland regular season championship. The Wildcats are still transitioning from Division II and are not eligible for NCAA or Southland Conference postseason play.
 
ACU closed out non-conference play with a 106-58 win over Sul Ross on Wednesday. The Wildcats also defeated Howard Payne, Omaha, UT Rio Grande Valley, Harding and Murray State this season. Abilene Christian's losses came to Missouri, Texas A&M, Baylor, UMKC, UTSA and Wichita State.
 
The Wildcats are led by a senior quartet of All-Southland Conference performers. 2015-16 Southland Conference Player of the Year Alexis Mason (14.0 ppg) returns, along with fellow returning senior starters Sydney Shelstead (12.7 ppg/8.3 rpg), Suzzy Dimba (9.2 ppg/5.8 rpg) and Lizzy Dimba (8.2 ppg/5.7 rpg).
 
Southeastern is 1-5 all-time versus Abilene Christian and has lost all five meetings between the two teams since they became conference rivals. Southeastern's lone win over ACU was a 104-69 victory in the opening game of the 1978-79 AIAW Regional Tournament. In the last matchup, ACU held off a late rally for a 72-70 victory last season in Abilene.
 
Since joining the Southland Conference, Southeastern has a 5-14 record in league openers. The Lady Lions have won two of their last three conference openers, including a 65-56 victory over Stephen F. Austin last season.
 
Saturday's game is the first of two at home for the Lady Lions to open up Southland Conference play. On Monday, the Lady Lions welcome Incarnate Word for a 12 p.m. league contest. The game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream of Monday's game at www.LionSports.net/watch.
 
Stears will be Monday's Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Walker, Louisiana native courtesy of PRIDE.