HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team will return to action Thursday to begin conference play traveling to Thibodaux to face off against Nicholls for a 6:30 p.m. match up at the David R. Stopher Gymnasium.
 
The game between Southeastern (4-7) and Nicholls (6-6) will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats, provided by the host, can be accessed on the women's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
SLU will move on to its second conference game of the season against the New Orleans Privateers (3-8) for a 2 p.m. game Saturday. Saturday's  match up will be broadcast on ESPN+. Live stats for both games, provided by the hosts, can be accessed on the women's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
Southeastern came up short in the Maui Classic falling to Oregon State 92-69 Tuesday, followed by a heartbreaking 48-47 loss to Tulsa Wednesday evening to close out non-conference play. Hailey Giaratano led both teams in scoring with 24 points alongside Taylor Bell who also contributed double-digit scoring with 12 points and seven rebounds. The match up versus Tulsa came down to the wire as Bell and Jalencia Pierre stepped up with double-digit scoring while Cheyanne Daniels secured 13 rebounds.
 
Giaratano reached 1,000 career points after tying her career high of 24 points against Oregon State. The senior shot 11-14 from the field displaying a solid performance in Maui.
 
SLU is looking to make a strong conference debut this week. Southeastern's defense has suffocated opponents forcing 17.8 steals a game and capitalizing off opponents' mistakes with 16.8 points off turnovers.
 
Nicholls (6-6) suffered a 69-50 loss against Grambling Wednesday to end non-conference. Lexi Alexander and Britiya Curtis average double-digit scoring for the Colonels as well as Alexander leading in rebounding with 5.5 per game. Nicholls so far has averaged 62.8 points against opponents.
 
New Orleans (3-8) won its last two non-conference games over Tarleton State and Alcorn State. The Privateers led by DeArica Pryor will match up against Texas A&M-Commerce Thursday to start conference. Pryor leads the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game in company with Zoe Cooper who leads the team in rebounding with 4.8. Five players for New Orleans earned double-digit scoring in its last match up with Pryor and Alexis Calderon leading the way with a combined 36 points.
 
Following Saturday's game, Southeastern will return to the Pride Roofing University Center to play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. Lady Lion fans are asked to wear their best sneakers to kick off 2024 in style.
 
 
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.