The Lady Cardinal basketball season is underway, and the team is looking to continue its winning ways. In Coach Aqua Franklin’s seventh year, the team is looking to grab a Southland Conference title to add to their years of consistently high finishes.
The Lady Cards have won 20 or more games in each of the past three seasons. Their 2024-’25 season ended with a 22-8 record along with a 17-3 conference record, including a 13-1 home record. Although the team performed great in the regular season, they have fallen short in tournament play.
Last year they fell in the first round against third-seeded Stephen F. Austin. Despite the disappointment, Akasha Davis and Sabrina Dean were both named All-SLC First Team. Unfortunately for LU, both have graduated, and the team only has six players returning. But they were able to recruit eight newcomers from as close as Kountze and as far away as Lagos, Nigeria.
The pre-conference schedule is tough with games against powerhouse teams such as Kansas State (an 89-61 road loss) and Kansas. The 29-game schedule features 14 home games and 22 conference games. The SLC tournament is scheduled for March 9-12 at Lake Charles, La.
One of the six returners is senior R’Mani Taylor who’s 2024-’25 campaign featured 28 games played, starting 14. She averaged 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and one steal per game. She said she is looking to add to those totals this year.
“I am most excited about getting another chance to make a statement,” she said. “It being my senior year, I’m reminded every day that I will not get this time back, and to take advantage of every game. I’m also excited to see how much we grow as a team and how far we can get to shock a lot of people throughout the year.”
With the majority of the team being newcomers, there is a new energy surrounding the team, Taylor said. She said the youth keeps everybody on top of their game.
“I think having a sort of new and young team is great for us,” she said. “Our young ones play really hard for us. They have come in and showed that they can be trusted in many different ways.”
Taylor said the team is new, so it’s going to take time to build chemistry, but it will happen.
“The more games we play the more we will gel,” she said. “Our newbies have come in and helped to take a load off by filling in roles and spots we lost from last season. They will push the team by keeping us young, energetic, fast and having heart. They are willing to do whatever is asked of them.”
Taylor said there is a lot of the motivation for the season after coming up short in previous seasons.
“The motivation is to get it done,” she said. “We have fallen short every year in the (Southland Conference) tournament. Winning the tournament is the only thing we have not done and that’s all the motivation we need.
“It’s not to please anyone else, but more so to please ourselves. We want to finally see that the hard work we put in has paid off. Our coaches, day in and day out, preach effort, staying in the gym and being tough.”
The team is looking to finally get over the SLC championship hump and every test the team has faced in previous years has got them ready for their championship moment — they just need to capitalize on it, Taylor said.
“There’s only one way to do it and that’s to just remain humble and keep going,” she said. “Every year we come across a different test, but each has taught us a lesson. To get over the hump we just have to stay consistent in the way we know how to play ball, trust each other, trust the coaches and trust the process. We will come out on top.”
Taylor said that having support in the arena keeps the team on their game.
“It means a lot to us,” she said. “We are nothing without our fans, without the continuous support of seeing people show up to games. It’s mostly the small things that stick with us the most. Having schools bring their kids, seeing the concession stand workers and our janitors always encouraging us, and students being at all our home games is what keeps us going.”
The Lady Cards tip off their home slate tonight against St. Mary’s University at the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.