HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team prepares to matchup on the road against Texas A&M-Commerce in the Field House for week six of league play for a 6:30 p.m. contest Thursday evening.
 
The matchup between Southeastern (13-8, 9-1 SLC) and Texas A&M-Commerce (10-10, 5-5 SLC) begins the week of road games. The Lady Lions will follow up Saturday afternoon against Northwestern State (9-12, 5-5 SLC) for the second round of conference play for a 1 p.m. tipoff.
 
Both games will be on ESPN+ and 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 finished week five of league play 2-0 defeating UIW 93-86 in triple overtime, before sweeping conference rival McNeese 80-69 at home. The Lady Lions are positioned at first suffering only one defeat this season in conference play.
 
In the triple overtime win over UIW, reigning Player of the Week Hailey Giaratano scored a career high 27 points with seven rebounds over the Cardinals while SLU sealed the game with a 11-4-point advantage in the third overtime. Southeastern defended its home court with a second half spark fueled by junior Taylor Bell with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Giaratano (12 points), Kennedy Paul (17 points), and Mackenzie Thomas (12 points) also ended the game in double-digit scoring over the Cowgirls.
 
The Lady Lions are centered on compounding its two-game winning streak led by Giaratano with 13.0 points per game, followed by Bell (9.6 ppg), Cheyanne Daniels (9.5 ppg), Jalencia Pierre (8.6 ppg), and key reserve Allasia Washington (6.6 ppg). Giaratano (3.21 apg) and Pierre (2.61 apg) are ranked among the top ten in the conference for assists, while Daniels has blocked 21 shots this season to rank fourth in the conference for blocked shots.
 
Southeastern remains in the lead in turnover margin (+4.24), forcing opponents to 17 turnovers a game led by Bell with 1.9 steals per game. The Lady Lions clamp down on opponents pressing teams to shoot roughly 34.7 percent from the field. SLU ranks second in field goal percentage (40.2) and field goal percentage defense.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce finished 1-1 last week defeating McNeese 94-70 before falling to Northwestern State 69-66 Saturday afternoon on the road. A&M-Commerce has withheld its position as the conference's leading scoring offense averaging 69.55 points per game led by Frisco, Texas native Mia Deck. The senior averages 14.5 points per game, ranks third in the conference in scoring and has earned five games with 20+ points. The Lions also rely on Jordyn Newsome (12.9 ppg), Mary Delgado (12.9 ppg) and Ahmya Boyce (10.9 ppg) for balanced scoring. Newsome ranks second in 3-point FG made (2.05) while Deck also ranks among the top five in the league in defensive rebounds (5.20). In the last matchup versus Southeastern, Deck (10 points) and Dorian Norris (14 points) were the spark for the Lions but could not withstand the stifling pressure from SLU's defense that held the leading scoring offensive team to only 49 points in the contest.
 
Northwestern State also finished 1-1 in week five of conference, suffering a 60-57 loss to Nicholls on the road before defeating A&M-Commerce 69-66 at home. Northwestern State averages 59.9 points per game and ranks third in the league in field goal percentage defense (37.2). The Lady Demons are led by senior Jiselle Woodson (11.3 ppg), Sharna Ayres (10.9 ppg), Karmelah Dean (9.6 ppg) and Jenny Ntambwe (9.0 ppg) this season. In the last matchup (Jan. 18), Northwestern State fell to the Lady Lions in a close 55-48 matchup, with Dean (17 points) and Sharna Ayres (13 points) leading the team. Dean shot 55.4 percent from the field while Ayres shot 43.6 percent from the 3-point line and 4-4 from the stripe.
 
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on 90.9 The Lion. Concluding week six of conference play Southeastern will return to the Pride Roofing University Center to matchup against Lamar Thursday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. and HCU Saturday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. for a two-game home slate.
 
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.