HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team returns to action in week four of conference to be battle tested on the road in Houston, TX Thursday to face up against HCU for a 6 p.m. game at the Sharp Gymnasium.
 
The game between Southeastern (10-7, 6-0 SLC) and HCU (5-12, 0-6 SLC) opens the week. SLU will follow up Saturday afternoon in a rematch of last season's SLC Tournament championship against Lamar (11-5, 5-1 SLC) for a 3 p.m. tipoff.
 
Both games will be on ESPN+ and Saturday's contest will also be heard in the Hammond area on 90.9 The Lion. Streaming audio of 90.9 The Lion broadcasts are available online, at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive or www.LionUpRadio.org, or through the following apps - Lions' Gameday, TuneIn and MyTuner Radio. Live stats, provided by the hosts, can be accessed on the women's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
Southeastern moved on to 6-0 in conference after taking care of business on its home court. The Lady Lions defeated Northwestern State 55-48, before taking down Texas A&M-Commerce 65-49 to end the week.
 
In the victory over A&M-Commerce, SLU controlled the entire matchup led by sophomore Jalencia Pierre (15 points) and Taylor Bell (12 points) who helped Southeastern gain its third home conference win. Pierre shot 60.0 percent from the field while Bell returning from injury had an all-around efficient game shooting 3-4 from the field with four assists and seven rebounds for the Lady Lions.
 
Ponchatoula native Hailey Giaratano also ended the game in double-digit scoring with 10 points. Giaratano has collected 14 games in double-digit scoring this season to lead the team. The Lady Lions have continued to rely on bench production that achieved a 32-22-point advantage over the Lions in Saturday's win.
 
Southeastern is looking to keep its momentum going on the road led by Giaratano with 12.4 points per game, followed by Daniels (10.0 ppg), Taylor Bell (9.4 ppg), Jalencia Pierre (8.6 ppg), and key reserve Allasia Washington (6.3 ppg). Giaratano (3.06 apg) and Pierre (2.63 apg) are ranked among the top ten in the conference for assists, while Daniels has blocked 19 shots this season to rank fourth in the conference for blocked shots.
 
The Lady Lions continue to lead the SLC in turnover margin (+5.18), forcing opponents to 18 turnovers a game led by Bell with 1.63 steals per game. Southeastern has also risen to the top in scoring defense (55.18).
 
HCU went 0-2 in week three after falling 57-48 to New Orleans then 65-54 to Lamar Saturday afternoon. HCU averages 55.2 points per game led by senior forward N'Denasija Collins with 13.8 ppg and 7.2 rebounds. Collins is ranked among the top five scorers in the conference. Kennedy Wilson (10.8 ppg), Enya Macguire (7.6 ppg) and Amy Cotton (5.9 ppg) are also weapons for the Huskies.
 
Lamar went 1-1 in week three of league play after falling 73-70 to A&M-Commerce before defeating HCU 65-54 on the road. Lamar leads the conference in field goal percentage (.426) led by Player of the Week Akasha Davis with 15.7 points per game with 9.8 rebounds. Davis is the second leading scorer in the conference followed by senior Sabria Dean (14.6 ppg).
 
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ and Saturday's matchup can be heard on 90.9 The Lion. After Saturday's game, Southeastern will return back home to host UIW Feb. 1 for a 6 p.m. matchup before taking on McNeese at 1 p.m. Feb. 3. Thursday's game will honor senior Daija Harvey (Feb. 1) and junior transfer Cheyanne Daniels (Feb. 3) as the Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans will receive trading cards featuring the players courtesy of PRIDE. During halftime, The Pride Roofing University Center will honor military and first responders Feb. 1.  
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Women's Basketball, follow @LionUpWBB on X, like /SoutheasternWBB on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.

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