# 2023–24 Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions basketball team

The 2023–24 Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions basketball team represented Southeastern Louisiana University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Lions were led by seventh-year head coach Ayla Guzzardo, and played their home games at Pride Roofing University Center in Hammond, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference. They compiled a 19–12 overall season record and a 14–4 record in conference play. Their season ended with a 59–60 loss to Texas A&M–Corpus Christi in the SLC tournament semifinals round.

## Previous season

The Lady Lions finished the 2022–23 season 21–10 overall, 14–4 in Southland play, to finish in first place. With a first-round bye, they defeated Texas A&M–Commerce in the semifinals of the Southland women's tournament. They defeated Lamar in the tournament championship game, winning the conference auto-bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. Their season ended when they were defeated by No. 3 Iowa in the first round.

## Media

Home games were broadcast on ESPN+.

## Preseason polls
### Southland Conference poll

The Southland Conference released its preseason poll on October 10, 2023. Receiving 159 overall votes and 15 first-place votes, the Lady Lions were picked to finish first in the conference.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Southeastern Louisiana | 159 (15) |
| 2 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 140 (3) |
| 3 | Lamar | 132 (2) |
| 4 | Incarnate Word | 97 |
| T5 | Houston Christian | 74 |
| T5 | McNeese | 74 |
| 7 | Northwestern State | 65 |
| 8 | Texas A&M–Commerce | 58 |
| 9 | New Orleans | 56 |
| 10 | Nicholls | 39 |

### Preseason All Conference

Senior guards Alexius Horne and Hailey Giaratano were selected to the Preseason All-Conference first team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | Millsaps | W 61–30 | 1–0 | 22 – C. Daniels | 10 – C. Daniels | 5 – H. Giaratano | Pride Roofing University Center (2,107) Hammond, LA |
| November 10, 2023* 6:30 p.m., SECN+ | | at No. 25 Mississippi State | L 46–67 | 1–1 | 11 – K. Paul | 8 – H. Giaratono | 3 – C. Daniels | Humphrey Coliseum (4,531) Starkville, MS |
| November 14, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | SUNO | W 90–30 | 2–1 | 17 – A. Berry | 5 – A. Berry | 6 – H. Giaratano | Pride Roofing University Center (921) Hammond, LA |
| November 17, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 7 LSU | L 50–73 | 2–2 | 12 – K. Paul | 6 – K. Paul | 4 – A. Berry | Pride Roofing University Center (7,500) Hammond, LA |
| November 20, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jackson State | L 54–63 | 2–3 | 13 – H. Giaratano | 5 – C. Daniels | 3 – H. Giaratano | Pride Roofing University Center (712) Hammond, LA |
| November 25, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mobile | W 75–47 | 3–3 | 20 – C. Daniels | 9 – T. Bell | 7 – H. Giaratano | Pride Roofing University Center (721) Hammond, LA |
| November 28, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State | W 64–36 | 4–3 | 15 – H. Giaratano | 8 – T. Bell | 4 – A. Berry | Charles Koch Arena (1,200) Wichita, KS |
| November 30, 2023* 6:30 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at Kansas | L 56–67 | 4–4 | 16 – Giaratano | 6 – Bell | 2 – Giaratano | Allen Fieldhouse (2,483) Lawrence, KS |
| December 15, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | South Alabama | L 60–67 | 4–5 | 19 – Giaratano | 6 – Thomas | 3 – Giaratano | Pride Roofing University Center (629) Hammond, LA |
| December 19, 2023* 11:30 p.m. | | vs. Oregon State 2023–24 Maui Tournament | L 69–92 | 4–6 | 24 – H. Giaratano | 7 – T. Bell | 2 – T. Bell | Seabury Hall (882) Makawao, HI |
| December 20, 2023* 10:00 p.m. | | vs. Tulsa 2023–24 Maui Tournament | L 47–48 | 4–7 | 15 – T. Bell | 13 – C. Daniels | 3 – J. Pierre | Seabury Hall Makawao, HI |
| Southland Conference regular season |||||||||
| January 4, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Nicholls | W 66–56 | 5–7 (1–0) | 20 – C. Daniels | 8 – C. Daniels | 8 – J. Pierre | Stopher Gymnasium (433) Thibodaux, LA |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Orleans | W 57–44 | 6–7 (2–0) | 12 – A. Patton | 9 – K. Paul | 4 – H. Giaratano | Lakefront Arena (603) New Orleans, LA |
| January 11, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 61–58 | 7–7 (3–0) | 13 – J. Pierre | 9 – H. Giaratano | 3 – J. Pierre | Pride Roofing University Center (692) Hammond, LA |
| January 13, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at McNeese | W 77–63 $^{OT}$ | 8–7 (4–0) | 21 – J. Pierre | 8 – C. Daniels | 5 – J. Pierre | The Legacy Center (2,208) Lake Charles, LA |
| January 18, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northwestern State | W 55–48 | 9–7 (5–0) | 23 – H. Giaratano | 6 – H. Giaratano | 2 – J. Pierre | Pride Roofing University Center (1,012) Hammond, LA |
| January 20, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas A&M–Commerce | W 65–49 | 10–7 (6–0) | 15 – J. Pierre | 8 – K. Paul | 4 – T. Bell | Pride Roofing University Center (721) Hammond, LA |
| January 25, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Houston Christian | W 53–51 | 11–7 (7–0) | 14 – tied (2) | 10 – M. Thomas | 4 – H. Giaratano | Sharp Gymnasium (200) Houston, TX |
| January 27, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Lamar | L 45–59 | 11–8 (7–1) | 8 – H. Giaratano | 5 – H. Giaratano | 5 – H. Giaratano | Neches Arena (985) Beaumont, TX |
| February 1, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Incarnate Word | W 93–86 $^{OT}$ | 12–8 (8–1) | 27 – H. Giaratano | 9 – C. Daniels | 4 – A. Patton | Pride Roofing University Center (1,248) Hammond, LA |
| February 3, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | McNeese | W 80–69 | 13–8 (9–1) | 20 – T. Bell | 8 – T. Bell | 6 – J. Pierce | Pride Roofing University Center (705) Hammond, LA |
| February 8, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas A&M–Commerce | W 72–61 | 14–8 (10–1) | 12 – J. Pierre | 10 – C. Daniels | 3 – T. Bell | The Field House (313) Commerce, TX |
| February 10, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northwestern State | W 59–51 | 15–8 (11–1) | 14 – T. Bell | 12 – C. Daniels | 4 – J. Pierre | Prather Coliseum (803) Natchitoches, LA |
| February 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lamar | L 60–67 | 15–9 (11–2) | 17 – H. Giaratano | 6 – J. Pierce | 3 – J. Pierce | Pride Roofing University Center (953) Hammond, LA |
| February 17, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Houston Christian | W 60–40 | 16–9 (12–2) | 22 – K. Paul | 6 – M. Thomas | 4; – J. Pierre | Pride Roofing University Center (644) Hammond, LA |
| February 24, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | New Orleans | W 69–66 $^{OT}$ | 17–9 (13–2) | 17 – A. Washington | 7 – C. Daniels | 5 – H. Giaratano | Pride Roofing University Center (783) Hammond, LA |
| February 29, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Incarnate Word | L 51–53 | 17–10 (13–3) | – T. Bell | – T. Bell | 4 – H. Giaratano | McDermott Center (169) San Antonio, TX |
| March 2, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | L 73–79 $^{OT}$ | 17–11 (13–4) | 15 – H. Giaratano | 7 – T. Bell | 4 – D. Flowers | American Bank Center (1,352) Corpus Christi, TX |
| March 7, 2024 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Nicholls | W 68–62 | 18–11 (14–4) | 25 – H. Giaratano | 7 – H. Giaratano | 4 – H. Giaratano | Pride Roofing University Center (779) Hammond, LA |
| 2024 Jersey Mike's Subs Southland Conference tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2024 1:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (7) Nicholls Second round | W 75–57 | 19–11 | 18 – K. Paul | 10 – K. Paul | 5 – H. Giaratano | The Legacy Center Lake Charles, LA |
| March 13, 2024 1:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (2) Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Semifinals | L 59–60 | 19–12 | 11 – H. Giaratano | 8 – tied (H. Giaratano & T. Bell) | 7 – J. Pierre | The Legacy Center Lake Charles, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source:

## Conference awards and honors
### Weekly awards

Weekly honors :
| Honors | Player | Position | Date Awarded | Ref. |
| SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week | Jalencia Pierre | G | January 15, 2024 | |
| SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week | Hailey Giaratano | G | February 5, 2024 | |