Winners of two of the last three Southland East Division titles, Southeastern Louisiana heads into the 2009-10 season eager to maintain its spot among the upper echelon of the conference.

Despite the loss of a banner senior class, head coach Lori Davis Jones and her staff head into the 2009-10 campaign confident that the talent level has not dropped off. What Jones wants to see is her three seniors - Quantae Thomas, Kim Edmonson and Zevy Ivory - take on the leadership role that the 2008-09 seniors provided - leadership that was vital to the success of last season's squad.

One of the main objectives for Southeastern heading into the 2009-10 season is finding a go-to player to replace Kristy Carlin, a first team All-Southland choice in 2008- 09 who averaged 15.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest. Jones and her staff believe the versatile Thomas, who can play on the wing and at the four, is the chief candidate to assume that role.

Thomas is not the only Lady Lion returning with plenty of experience, as Edmonson and junior Chelsea Hix provide SLU with a pair of talented shooters at the wings. Edmonson poured in 53 three-pointers in her first season with the program out of Panola College, while Hix - a two-year starter from Canton, Ga. - ranks second in school history in terms of career three-point field goal percentage. Thomas, Edmonson and Hix combined for 116 of Southeastern's Southland single-season record 220 three-point field goals last season.

The Lady Lion backcourt will be provided with an added dimension with the addition of newcomer Mary Fountain, who joins the program from Northwest Florida State College. The athletic Fountain compares favorably to 2008-09 senior Bethany Sinclair, according to the coaching staff. Returning sophomores Gabrielle George and Amber Crenshaw give the Lady Lions two additional skilled shooters.

With Thomas having the ability to play both in the backcourt and frontcourt, the Lady Lions feature a deep post corps. Ivory is the most experienced returner back and the top returning rebounder for a team that led the Southland in rebounding margin a season ago. Ivory is joined by sophomore Shauna Stewart and junior Rachel Mackie to give Southeastern a solid returning nucleus down low.

Junior college transfers Kasia Gowar - a 6-4 post from Krakow, Poland who was ranked as the nation's 20th-best junior college center coming out of Northwest Florida State College - and Rashima Jenkins - a 15.6 point per game scorer at East Central (Miss.) Community College, along with freshman Aja Gibson - an All-District performer at Fayette Ware High School - are expected to add to the post production.

The lone returning point guard is sophomore Kelli Jenkins, who despite playing only 15 minutes a game posted the most assists (92) by a Lady Lion since 2001-02 and led the Southland with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Lady Lions' blend of proven veterans and impact newcomers has Jones and her staff very optimistic heading into the season. Despite the loss of key veterans from last season's squad, the program's immediate future is bright and Jones expects her squad to be among the Southland's top teams.