HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball team improved to No. 23 in the Women's Mid Major Top 25 poll for the first time in program history, as announced by College Insider Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Lady Lions claimed their first appearance within the Top 25 Mid Major Poll during week five of conference play after defeating UIW and Houston Christian at home. As Southeastern continues to embark on program history under head coach Ayla Guzzardo, it has progressed two spots standing with an overall record of 18-3 and 12-0 in league play. SLU is the lone undefeated team in the Southland Conference and is among the final 17 teams in the nation to stand unbeaten in their respective conference as of Feb. 4.
 
"We have been pushing this program to new limits each year, and our staff and players have been working so hard since the off season," stated Coach Guzzardo. "It's been fun because our Hammond community supports women's basketball and they are now able to celebrate as well."
 
Southeastern moved up two spots in the poll after a pair of thrilling victories over Lamar and New Orleans this past week. SLU defeated conference rival Lamar to solidify its claim as the last undefeated team in the conference with a 60-48 victory at home. With its win over the Cardinals, the Lady Lions gained their first regular season win over the Cardinals in Coach Guzzardo's tenure. Two Lady Lions, Alexius Horne and Lexi Alexander, also reached 1,000 career points in the highly anticipated matchup.
 
"It was an exciting game with an electric crowd in Hammond, America," said Guzzardo. "Lamar is a very good team and well respected in our conference. The win was crucial for so many reasons, but ultimately moved us closer to our goal of a conference championship."
 
SLU ended the week with a 59-50 victory over New Orleans to stand 12-0 in conference play and extend its longest winning streak under Guzzardo's leadership. Southeastern sits at the top of the league in scoring defense (54.10), steals (11.14), turnover margin (+7.52), and assist/turnover ratio (1.05). The Lady Lions are also amidst only four teams in the nation standing 12-0 or higher in their conference. SLU is in the company of UCLA, standing 21-0 overall this season, UConn (13-0 Big East), and Purdue University Fort Wayne (13-0 Horizon). Southeastern's stifling defense has forced opponents into 20.0 turnovers per game and ranks 11^th in the nation in scoring defense. The Lady Lions are tied at 17^th in turnover margin along with 19^th in winning percentage, as SLU is the only team to represent the Southland Conference for the second consecutive week.
 
In its 15^th season, the Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Coastal Athletic, Conference USA, Horizon, Independent, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic.
 
Southeastern will travel to Houston, Texas in a rematch against HCU Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Sharp Gymnasium. Thursday's game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive.
 
 
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.