2025–26 Southern Lady Jaguars basketball team

2025–26 Southern Lady Jaguars basketball
2025–26 Southern Lady Jaguars basketball
SWAC Tournament Champions
NCAA Tournament, First Round
Conference	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Record	20–14 (12–6 SWAC)
Head coach	Carlos Funchess (8th season);
Assistant coaches	Jeremy Bonin; Patrece Carter; TJ Pugh;
Home arena	F. G. Clark Center

2025–26 SWAC women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Alabama A&M	17	–	1	.944	22	–	11	.667
Alcorn State	14	–	4	.778	17	–	14	.548
Alabama State	12	–	6	.667	17	–	15	.531
Southern †	12	–	6	.667	20	–	14	.588
Jackson State	10	–	8	.556	12	–	19	.387
Grambling State	10	–	8	.556	13	–	19	.406
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	10	–	8	.556	15	–	16	.484
Florida A&M	7	–	11	.389	9	–	22	.290
Mississippi Valley State	6	–	12	.333	8	–	23	.258
Texas Southern	6	–	12	.333	10	–	21	.323
Bethune–Cookman	4	–	14	.222	7	–	26	.212
Prairie View A&M	0	–	18	.000	2	–	28	.067

† 2026 SWAC tournament winner

The 2025–26 Southern Lady Jaguars basketball team represented Southern University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Jaguars, led by eighth-year head coach Carlos Funchess, played their home games at the F. G. Clark Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Previous season

The Lady Jaguars finished the 2024–25 season 21–13, 15–3 in SWAC play, to win the SWAC regular season title. They beat #9 seed Mississippi Valley State, Jackson State and Alcorn State to SWAC tournament as a result they received an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they defeated UC San Diego in the First Four before losing to UCLA in the first round.

Preseason

On October 7, 2025, the SWAC released their preseason coaches poll. Southern was picked to finish atop the conference in the SWAC, receiving fourteen of the twenty-three first-place votes.^[1]

Preseason rankings

SWAC preseason poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Southern	265 (14)
2	Alabama A&M	224 (5)
3	Jackson State	213 (1)
4	Texas Southern	202 (1)
5	Grambling State	186 (2)
6	Alcorn State	164
7	Bethune–Cookman	119
8	Florida A&M	111
9	Alabama State	98
10	Prairie View A&M	93
11	Arkansas–Pine Bluff	63
12	Mississippi Valley State	56

Source:^[1]

Preseason All-SWAC Teams

No Lady Jaguars were named to the first or second Preseason All-SWAC teams.^[1]

Roster

2025–26 Southern Lady Jaguars women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Aubri Wilkins	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	RS Fr	Carver High School	Columbus, Georgia
G	1	Aniya Gourdine	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Sr	Temple	Baltimore, Maryland
G	2	Jaylia Reed	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	GS	Mississippi Valley State	Hot Springs, Arkansas
G	3	Taniya Lawson	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Sr	Texas Southern	Capitol Heights, Maryland
G	5	D'Shantae Edwards	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Sr	Bethune–Cookman	Baltimore, Maryland
G	8	Mykayla Cunningham	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Lindenwood	Salina, Kansas
G	10	Demonnie Lagway	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Sr	Cal State Fullerton	Los Angeles, California
C	13	Anaja Hall	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	Jr	Alabama State	Atlanta, Georgia
G	20	Zaria Hurston	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Coastal Carolina	Decatur, Georgia
G	23	Kiana Wilson	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Sr	Florida SouthWestern State	Jacksonville, Florida
F	24	DeMya Porter	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	So	Bogue Chitto High School	Bogue Chitto, Mississippi
G	30	Olivia Delancy	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Florida A&M	St. Petersburg, Florida
C	32	Xyllize Harrison	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Sr	Garland High School	Garland, Texas

Head coach

Carlos Funchess (Louisiana–Monroe)

Assistant coach(es)

Jeremy Bonin
Patrece Carter (Louisiana Christian)
TJ Pugh (LSU)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

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 3, 2025* 6:30 p.m., B1G+		at No. 21 Iowa	L 51–86	0–1	14 – Hurston	4 – Hurston	5 – Cunningham	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,998) Iowa City, IA
November 5, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 14 Iowa State	L 58–85	0–2	14 – Hurston	6 – Tied	2 – Tied	Hilton Coliseum (8,908) Ames, IA
November 12, 2025* 6:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		at No. 13 Ole Miss	L 44–94	0–3	21 – Hurston	7 – Tate	5 – Cunningham	SJB Pavilion (2,299) Oxford, MS
November 18, 2025* 6:00 p.m.		Tougaloo (MS)	W 67–38	1–3	13 – Lagway	13 – Tate	3 – Tied	F. G. Clark Center (2,419) Baton Rouge, LA
November 23, 2025* 4:00 p.m., B1G+		at No. 3 UCLA	L 37–88	1–4	8 – Porter	4 – Porter	3 – Cunningham	Pauley Pavilion (3,712) Los Angeles, CA
November 25, 2025* 6:00 p.m., B1G+		at No. 22 Washington	L 40–66	1–5	16 – Porter	9 – Porter	1 – Tied	Alaska Airlines Arena (2,000) Seattle, WA
December 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Arizona	W 63–57	2–5	16 – Porter	7 – Hurston	9 – Cunningham	McKale Center (5,245) Tucson, AZ
December 7, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Houston	W 70–62	3–5	11 – Tied	6 – Porter	7 – Cunningham	Fertitta Center (985) Houston, TX
December 12, 2025* 11:00 a.m.		Southern–New Orleans	W 84–34	4–5	18 – Porter	8 – Tied	4 – Reed	F. G. Clark Center (2,860) Baton Rouge, LA
December 18, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 15 Baylor	L 60–77	4–6	11 – Reed	4 – Tied	3 – Tate	Foster Pavilion (3,074) Waco, TX
December 21, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+		at SMU	L 62–74	4–7	15 – Reed	9 – Hurston	3 – Cunningham	Moody Coliseum (1,579) Dallas, TX
SWAC regular season
January 1, 2026 2:00 p.m., SWAC TV		Prairie View A&M	W 70–55	5–7 (1–0)	14 – Tied	8 – Tate	3 – Dixon	F. G. Clark Center (3,765) Baton Rouge, LA
January 3, 2026 2:30 p.m., SWAC TV		Texas Southern	W 64–45	6–7 (2–0)	11 – Hurston	8 – Hurston	3 – Cunningham	F. G. Clark Center (3,930) Baton Rouge, LA
January 8, 2026 6:00 p.m., SWAC TV		at Bethune–Cookman	W 61–50	7–7 (3–0)	17 – Porter	13 – Hurston	5 – Cunningham	Moore Gymnasium (312) Daytona Beach, FL
January 10, 2026 3:00 p.m., SWAC TV		at Florida A&M	L 57–60	7–8 (3–1)	10 – Tied	10 – Hurston	3 – Tied	Al Lawson Center (651) Tallahassee, FL
January 17, 2026 2:00 p.m., SWAC TV		at Grambling State	W 60–43	8–8 (4–1)	16 – Porter	7 – Porter	2 – Tied	Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center Grambling, LA
January 22, 2026 4:00 p.m., SWAC TV		Mississippi Valley State	W 69–46	9–8 (5–1)	13 – Reed	7 – Dixon	4 – Wilson	F. G. Clark Center (2,896) Baton Rouge, LA
January 24, 2026 2:30 p.m., SWAC TV		Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 80–65	10–8 (6–1)	19 – Porter	10 – Tate	8 – Cunningham	F. G. Clark Center (3,159) Baton Rouge, LA
January 29, 2026 6:00 p.m., SWAC TV		at Jackson State	W 67–43	11–8 (7–1)	10 – Tied	5 – Hall	5 – Hurston	Williams Assembly Center (395) Jackson, MS
January 31, 2026 1:00 p.m., SWAC TV		at Alcorn State	L 56–69	11–9 (7–2)	15 – Tate	12 – Tate	3 – Reed	Davey Whitney Complex (667) Lorman, MS
February 5, 2026 6:00 p.m., SWAC TV		Alabama State	L 57–61	11–10 (7–3)	12 – Tate	9 – Tate	5 – Cunningham	F. G. Clark Center (2,952) Baton Rouge, LA
February 7, 2026 2:30 p.m., SWAC TV		Alabama A&M	L 54–56	11–11 (7–4)	10 – Tied	8 – Porter	3 – Tied	F. G. Clark Center (3,125) Baton Rouge, LA
February 12, 2026 6:00 p.m., SWAC TV		at Texas Southern	W 66–54	12–11 (8–4)	20 – Delancy	7 – Tate	4 – Dixon	H&PE Arena (478) Houston, TX
February 14, 2026 2:00 p.m., SWAC TV		at Prairie View A&M	W 60–45	13–11 (9–4)	17 – Hurston	8 – Hurston	3 – Wilson	William J. Nicks Building (426) Prairie View, TX
February 21, 2026 2:30 p.m., SWAC TV		Grambling State	W 59–45	14–11 (10–4)	17 – Porter	9 – Porter	7 – Cunningham	F. G. Clark Center (5,139) Baton Rouge, LA
February 26, 2026 6:00 p.m., SWAC TV		Florida A&M	W 80–61	15–11 (11–4)	20 – Delancy	8 – Dixon	5 – Cunningham	F. G. Clark Center (3,159) Baton Rouge, LA
February 28, 2026 12:00 p.m., SWAC TV		Bethune–Cookman	W 73–47	16–11 (12–4)	20 – Delancy	8 – Dixon	5 – Cunningham	F. G. Clark Center (3,152) Baton Rouge, LA
March 3, 2026 5:00 p.m., SWAC TV		at Alabama State	L 63–65	16–12 (12–5)	13 – Reed	9 – Hurston	5 – Cunningham	Dunn–Oliver Acadome (725) Montgomery, AL
March 3, 2026 5:00 p.m., SWAC TV		at Alabama A&M	L 61–64	16–13 (12–6)	17 – Tate	8 – Hurston	3 – Tied	Alabama A&M Events Center (1,387) Huntsville, AL
SWAC tournament
March 12, 2026* 10:00 a.m., ESPN+	(4)	vs. (5) Jackson State Quarterfinals	W 64–51	17–13	18 – Delancy	8 – Tate	4 – Cunningham	Gateway Center Arena (842) College Park, GA
March 13, 2026* 10:00 a.m., ESPN+	(4)	vs. (1) Alabama A&M Semifinals	W 51–49	18–13	10 – Tied	9 – Porter	4 – Cunningham	Gateway Center Arena (1,002) College Park, GA
March 14, 2026* 12:00 p.m., ESPNU	(4)	vs. (3) Alabama State Championship	W 73–56	19–13	13 – Hurston	8 – Tate	5 – Reed	Gateway Center Arena (1,582) College Park, GA
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2026* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2	(16 S4)	vs. (16 S4) Samford First Four	W 65–53	20–13	16 – Reed	12 – Porter	8 – Cunningham	Colonial Life Arena (736) Columbia, SC
March 21, 2026* 12:00 p.m., ABC	(16 S4)	at (1 S4) No. 4 South Carolina First Round	L 34–103	20–14	–	–	–	Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S4=Sacramento 4. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "SWAC Announces Women's Basketball Preseason Selections". Southwestern Athletic Conference. October 7, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule". Southern University. Retrieved March 5, 2025.

[poll-1] "SWAC Announces Women's Basketball Preseason Selections". Southwestern Athletic Conference. October 7, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.

[2] "2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule". Southern University. Retrieved March 5, 2025.

[1]

[2]

Southern Lady Jaguars basketball
Venues	F. G. Clark Activity Center (1975–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	List of seasons 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26