HAMMOND, La.  – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team is preparing for the upcoming 2022-23 season that begins next month.
 
Southeastern finished its 2021-22 season with a 16-11 overall record and a 10-4 Southland conference finish under head coach Ayla Guzzardo who is entering her sixth year as the leader of the Lady Lions.
 
As the season is on the horizon, the Lady Lions have been focused on confidence on the court. "This year we talked about confidence a lot. Having confidence as a player is huge because there will be games where we aren't shooting the ball well and we have to be able to keep shooting knowing the next one will go in." Guzzardo said.
 
Alexius Horne and Hailey Giaratano are among the top returners returning to the hardwood. Giaratano was named All-Southland and All-Louisiana after starting all 27 games. She averaged 7.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
 
"Alexius and Hauley are stepping up into big roles for our team. " Guzzardo said,
Horne appeared in 25 games and had 12 starts. She saved her best performance for the postseason, earning her a spot on the Southland Conference All-Tournament team.
 
Another standout that has caught Guzzardo's eye is freshman Jalencia Pierre, a guard out of Springfield, La. Pierre was the Most Outstanding Player at least year's Top 28 in the UC after leading Amite HS to the state title.
 
"As a newcomer, she really has stood out to us on both ends of the floor." Guzzardo said.
Some objectives that the Lady Lions have this year are creating new identities as a team and creating new identities as players. "This group plays better together in transition than we did last year. I am also working on being better at letting them have more 'free reign' while playing than controlling most aspects of the game. As successful as we were, this is a new team." Guzzardo said.
 
Another thing that is going to be important for SLU is the culture. "Luckily for us our culture is the core of the team. And our culture this year is truly being led by our returners. We are competitive  in every aspect. On the court we know that our defense is our strength so that will not change from year to year. We try to make everything as hard as possible for our opponents. Guzzardo said.
 
The season begins Nov. 7 against LSUA at 5 p.m. in the University Center. It will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats can be accessed on LionSports.net.
 

 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Women's Basketball, follow @LionUpWBB on Twitter, like /SoutheasternWBB on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.