HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team officially opened practice this week just over a month prior to the opening of the 2021-22 schedule, which was released on Thursday.
 
The 2021-22 Lady Lions head into the season with high expectations after a best-ever second place finish in the Southland Conference standings. SLU's overall (11-8) and conference (10-5) records were its best since the 2008-09 season.
 
SLU returns a total of 10 letterwinners from last season's squad, including the top seven scores and all five starters. The return of 2019-20 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year Alexius Horne, as well as the addition of five talented newcomers, bolsters the Southeastern roster.
 
Lady Lion head coach Ayla Guzzardo heads into her fifth season at the helm of the program with confidence and has been pleased with the start of official practice.
 
"We're excited to be back in the University Center after Hurricane Ida," Guzzardo said. "This is an experienced team which is evident during practice. Our practices have been competitive and we're getting better every day."
 
2020-21 All-Southland performers Morgan Carrier and Hailey Giaratano both return for the Lady Lions, along with key contributors Caitlyn Williams, Cierria Cunningham, Breonca Ducksworth, Chrissy Brown, Natalie Kelley, Daija Harvey, Jaylen Huderson and Kacey Bradford. All told, 97.1 percent of SLU's 2020-21 scoring is back for the coming season.
 
"Our expectations are high and it starts in our locker room," Guzzardo commented. "Our players do a great job of holding each other accountable and setting a high standard for themselves. Our mindset is that our destiny is in our hands this year."
 
The veteran core will be bolstered by five newcomers – Taylor Bell, Morgan Davis, Dijone Flowers, Jade Brumfield and Presleigh Scott. Highlighting the "new" faces for 2021-22 is Horne, who returns after missing all of 2020-21. The Baton Rouge native averaged 9.5 points and 3.8 assists per contest as the league's top freshman in 2019-20.
 
"Lex has come back stronger and more confident," Guzzardo said. "The only thing that's different about her from before her injury is she's wearing a knee brace. What we've seen is that the old Lex is back and we're excited to see her progress this year."
 
Guzzardo wants her team to continue to improve as the season opener approaches.
 
"We have to be consistent early on in the season and maintain it through the year," Guzzardo commented. "We have depth, but we want to see how well our new faces mix with our veterans and fit in to our system."
 
SLU will open the 2021-22 season at Tulane on Nov. 9. Other trips for the Lady Lions in nonconference play include Texas Tech (Nov. 11), Alcorn State (Nov. 19), TCU (Dec. 1), Prairie View (Dec. 3), Stephen F. Austin (Dec. 20), Lamar (Dec. 22) and Houston (Dec. 29).
 
Southeastern opens its home schedule versus LSU Shreveport on Nov. 15. UL Lafayette (Nov. 24), Utah State (Nov. 27) and William Carey (Dec. 11) will also visit the University Center during Southland play.
 
"We're facing tough competition right out of the gate and throughout the nonconference season," Guzzardo said. "We have a veteran team and we wanted to test them with a schedule that would only make us better and prepare us for Southland Conference play."
 
Prior to the conference season tipping off, the league will host a three-game tournament featuring the conference's eight teams in the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas – home of the postseason Southland Conference Tournament in March. The Southland preview event is set for Jan. 3-5.
 
SLU opens conference play officially at home versus Northwestern State on Jan. 15. The Lady Lions will play all seven league opponents home and away. Home Southland contests include visits from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Jan. 27), UIW (Jan. 29), McNeese (Feb. 10), HBU (Feb. 12), New Orleans (Feb. 24) and Nicholls (Feb. 26).
 
The Lady Lions open their conference road schedule on Jan. 20 at New Orleans. SLU's league road contests include trips to Nicholls (Jan. 22), McNeese (Feb. 3), HBU (Feb. 5), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 17), UIW (Feb. 19) and Northwestern State (March 5). The Southland Tournament is March 10-13 in Katy, Texas.
 
2021-22 Southeastern Louisiana WBB Schedule
Date                Opponent                               Location                     Time
Nov. 9             at Tulane                                 New Orleans, La.        TBA
Nov. 11           at Texas Tech                          Lubbock, Texas           7 p.m.
Nov. 15           LSU Shreveport                    Hammond, La.          7 p.m.
Nov. 19           at Alcorn State                                    Lorman, Miss.             TBA
Nov. 24           UL Lafayette                         Hammond, La.          7 p.m.
Nov. 27           Utah State                              Hammond, La.          1 p.m.
Dec. 1              at TCU                                    Fort Worth, Texas       6:30 p.m.
Dec. 3              at SMU                                   Dallas, Texas               5:30 p.m.
Dec. 11            William Carey                       Hammond, La.          1 p.m.
Dec. 20            at Stephen F. Austin               Houston, Texas           TBA
Dec. 22            at Lamar                                  Beaumont, Texas        TBA
Dec. 29            at Houston                              Houston, Texas           TBA
Jan. 3-5            Southland Preview                  Katy, Texas                 TBA
Jan. 15            Northwestern State*             Hammond, La.          1 p.m.
Jan. 20             at New Orleans*                     New Orleans, La.        5 p.m.
Jan. 22             at Nicholls*                             Thibodaux, La.            TBA
Jan. 27            A&M-Corpus Christi*         Hammond, La.          5:30 p.m.
Jan. 29            UIW*                                      Hammond, La.          1 p.m.
Feb. 3              at McNeese*                           Lake Charles, La.        5 p.m.
Feb. 5              at Houston Baptist*                Houston, Texas           2 p.m.
Feb. 10            McNeese*                               Hammond, La.          5:30 p.m.
Feb. 12            Houston Baptist*                   Hammond, La.          1 p.m.
Feb. 17            at A&M-Corpus Christi*        Corpus Christi, Texas 5 p.m.
Feb. 19            at UIW*                                  San Antonio, Texas     TBA
Feb. 24            New Orleans*                        Hammond, La.          5:30 p.m.
Feb. 26            Nicholls*                                 Hammond, La.          1 p.m.
March 5           at Northwestern State*           Natchitoches, La.        1 p.m.
March 10-13   at Southland Tournament        Katy, Texas                 TBA
 
Southeastern home events in bold | * - Southland Conference contest

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