COMMERCE – The East Texas A&M University women's basketball team has learned the first portion of its 2025-26 schedule as the 22-game Southland Conference slate was released on Tuesday morning.
 
All teams in the Southland are set to play 22 conference games this season, which is the most for any conference in NCAA Division I. Women's basketball teams around the conference will continue to play on Thursdays and Saturday in January-March with four games scheduled during various dates in November-December.
 
The first conference game of the season for East Texas A&M comes at the home of the defending Southland champion, Southeastern, on November 22. The Battle of Lions in Hammond is believed to be the earliest conference game in any conference in Division I this season.
 
The Lions then take on McNeese on December 12, followed by two home games to end 2025. Defending Southland Tournament champion and NCAA Tournament participant, SFA, visits Commerce on December 29, while Lamar makes the trip to Hunt Regional Healthcare Court at the Field House on December 31.
 
To start the new year, the Lions play at New Orleans on January 3, followed by a pair of home games against A&M-Corpus Christi (January 8) and UTRGV (January 10).
 
A four-game road trip ensues as East Texas A&M plays at UIW (January 15), HCU (January 17), Lamar (January 22), and Northwestern State (January 24).
 
The Lions begin a stretch of six games at home in a span of seven games by hosting New Orleans and Nicholls on January 29 and 31, respectively.
 
After a quick trip to SFA on February 5, the Lions welcome Northwestern State on February 7, Southeastern on February 12, McNeese on February 14, HCU on February 19, and UIW on February 21, which is also the last home game of the season.
 
To close out the regular season, the Lions head south to A&M-Corpus Christi on February 26 and UTRGV on February 28, and then take on Nicholls on March 2 in Thibodaux, Louisiana, to end the regular season.
 
The Southland Conference Tournament returns to Lake Charles for the fourth straight year as the Lions look to return to the eight-team tournament.
 
This season marks the first time in the Division I era that East Texas A&M is eligible for the NCAA Tournament, which begins on March 18, with the Women's Final Four scheduled for April 3-5 in Phoenix.
 
2025-26 LION WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SLC SCHEDULE

Date	Opponent	Site
Nov. 22	at Southeastern	Hammond, La.
Dec. 12	at McNeese	Lake Charles, La.
DEC. 29	SFA	COMMERCE
DEC. 31	LAMAR	COMMERCE
Jan. 3	at New Orleans	New Orleans
JAN. 8	A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI	COMMERCE
JAN. 10	UTRGV	COMMERCE
Jan. 15	at UIW	San Antonio
Jan. 17	at HCU	Houston
Jan. 22	at Lamar	Beaumont
Jan. 24	at Northwestern State	Natchitoches, La.
JAN. 29	NEW ORLEANS	COMMERCE
JAN. 31	NICHOLLS	COMMERCE
Feb. 5	at SFA	Nacogdoches
FEB. 7	NORTHWESTERN STATE	COMMERCE
FEB. 12	SOUTHEASTERN	COMMERCE
FEB. 14	MCNEESE	COMMERCE
FEB. 19	HCU	COMMERCE
FEB. 21	UIW	COMMERCE
Feb. 26	at A&M-Corpus Christi	Corpus Christi
Feb. 28	at UTRGV	Edinburg
March 2	at Nicholls	Thibodaux, La.
March 9-12	SLC Tournament	Lake Charles, La.
March 18-19	NCAA Tournament-First Four	TBA
March 20-23	NCAA Tournament-Sub Regionals	TBA
March 27-30	NCAA Tournament-Regionals	Fort Worth or Sacramento
April 3-5	NCAA Women's Final Four	Phoenix