HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team has begun preparations as the 2025-26 season draws near.
As the upcoming season is on the horizon, Southeastern has been focused on improving with every practice on the court while refining areas on both sides of the ball offensively and defensively. The Lady Lions are rebuilding after a historic season finishing 26-6 overall and 19-1 in Southland Conference play, recording their third appearance in the SLC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship in four seasons.
Under the dawn of a new era, first year head coach Jeff Dow is rebuilding the program with 13 newcomers to further push Southeastern's winning culture. Dow is looking forward to the production of his newcomers and experienced guards, Aliyah Collins and Lihi Azouri.
Collins averaged 12.2 points per game with 2.5 assists in her last season at UIW to lead the team in scoring and rank seventh in the conference. Azouri noted a solid professional career with the Israeli National Team averaging 8.5 points per game while shooting 37.0 percent from the three-point line.
"Lihi and Aliyah have the most in-game experience against upper level competition, whether it was from Lihi playing professionally in international competition, or in Aliyah's case, two years in the Southland Conference from our time together at UIW," stated Dow. "Their ability to score from the perimeter and off the dribble has stood out consistently."
SLU is seeking to adjust and create a fresh identity as many new additions will be heavily relied upon. UIW transfer Eryn McKinzie is another standout that has excelled in a new position as Dow will look to capitalize on her versatility alongside redshirt freshman Texas A&M-Corpus Christi transfer Natalie Huff and true freshman Mia Ramos.
"We've had to use Eryn more as a forward rather than a guard, but she has adapted to that position change extremely well," commented Coach Dow. "In addition, Natalie and Mia have stepped up and done well since we started practicing due to their work ethic and ability to knock down shots beyond the arc."
SLU will tip off Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. in an exhibition against Millsaps before welcoming Centenary to Hammond, America for its season opener Nov. 3 at 11 a.m. in the University Center. Southeastern's game against Centenary will be streamed on ESPN+.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Women's Basketball, follow @LionUpWBB on X and Instagram or like /SoutheasternWBB on Facebook.
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.
