The Lady Lions basketball team and Head Coach Ayla Guzzardo are changing the way they do things as they begin to climb the ladder to the top of the Southland Conference and change the culture of the program. Courtesy of Sports Information

The Lady Lions basketball team is currently preparing for the upcoming season in the fall. With many new faces added to the team as well as a new coach, the Lady Lions have some challenges and adjustments to make if they are to finish better than their previous overall season record of 5-24.

Lady Lions Head Coach Ayla Guzzardo has the team practicing two hours a week doing mostly individual drills and exercises.

“It’s going very well,” said Guzzardo. “We got all of our girls on campus. All thirteen of them. They are taking classes and going to study hall. They are getting a taste of what next year is going to be like.”

Guzzardo is thankful for the assistant coaches that were on staff last year under Errol Gauff who are now on her staff as she looks to turn the program around.

“I have great people around me, so that makes the job a lot easier,” said Guzzardo. “Great support staff, great administration and great assistance, that is where the key is. They have made my job very easy. I enjoy coming to work every day. It’s a great place to be. I’m home so I’m happy.”

The Lady Lions have added four players to the roster: Morgan Carrier, Jyar Francis, Caitlyn Williams and Kyla Williams. Guzzardo is hoping that the players can make the Lady Lions a better defensive team since the team struggled last season on that side of the court.

“They are all going to set the tone for us,” said Guzzardo. “They’re all defensive players. We could score last year, but we could not defend as much so that is what we are going to focus on this year. We have scorers, but we need to be able to defend too. The type of intensity and the momentum that all of those kids are bringing is going to excel our game.”

Senior guard Taylin Underwood led the team last year averaging 18.6 points per game and had the school record of 73 made 3-pointers. She hopes to see the team reach their ultimate goal in her final season.

“Obviously, I would like to improve on everything as I’m coming into my senior year,” said Underwood. “There are a lot of new faces, but I think that we’re all willing and ready to work hard and get to the ultimate goal to win conference and make the tournament.”

Fellow senior guard Bre Warren has the goal of being an example for her teammates and leading them towards the goal that they have set as a team.

“My goal for this upcoming season is to be a better leader for the team and doing whatever can help them get better,” said Warren. “Being a senior, I have a year left, so I’m focused on shot percentage, defense and things like that. But, I also need to get the younger kids ready for when I’m not here.”

For the Lady Lions, the only place left to go is up, and they are making any and every change to the program and the identity of the team to make these goals happen.

“We wanna win,” said Guzzardo. “We definitely want to win more games than we did last year. We want to win every game. We are changing the culture of Southeastern. We’re bringing people to the stands. We are trying to do more on social media. We are trying to get out more in the community. As far as basketball, we want to win the conference championship. I’m not looking anywhere else other than there. We are getting to Katy, and we are going to win.”