FRISCO, Texas – Northwestern State’s Vernell Atamah has been named the 2025-26 Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, as the all-conference teams and superlative award winners were announced by the conference office on Friday.

Atamah is the third women's basketball athlete from Northwestern State to win Southland Player of the Year honors. She was also named to first-team all-conference.

The reigning freshman of the year turned player of the year has had one of the best seasons in program history. She leads the Southland in both overall points per game (19.30), field goals made (187), and conference points per game (19.05). She is the only player in the conference who has scored 30+ points twice. 

She sits in the top three in conference points (19.05) and rebounds (8.0), the only player in the top three in both categories. Her 87 made triples this season are just one shy of the school record for a single season. In the regular season finale against New Orleans, she became one of the quickest to reach 1,000 points in school history. Atamah scored 20+ points 13 times and has recorded seven double-doubles, six in league play. She is a three-time Southland Player of the Week.

McNeese head coach Ayla Guzzardo won Coach of the Year honors after leading the Cowgirls to its third overall Southland Conference regular-season title and first since 2011. This marks Guzzardo’s third coach of the year honor, second-straight, and third in the past four years. She is only one of two coaches to ever earn the award in back-to-back seasons. McNeese won a record 27 wins (27-4) and a conference record 21 wins (21-1). The 20-win season is the first 20-win season for McNeese since 2016, as Guzzardo also led McNeese to the fastest 20 win season in school history (20 wins in first 24 games). The Cowgirls ended the regular season on a school record 20 game winning streak, the fourth current longest in Division I this season. Guzzardo is the first McNeese head coach to win at least 22 games in her first season as head coach and had a 17-game turnaround from last season, the best NCAA turnaround by a first year head coach this season. 

McNeese’s Jalencia Pierre earns her third-straight defensive player of the year accolade, making her one of only two Southland women’s basketball players in conference history to win the award at least three times. Pierre ranks fourth in the SLC with 2.1 steals per game and led McNeese in steals in six games. The senior from Springfield, Louisiana, leads McNeese and the Southland Conference in assists with 113 for an average of 3.8 assists per game. She averaged 2.4 assists in conference games. Pierre ranks 19th in the nation in assists/turnover ratio. In addition to her third-straight defensive player of the year award, Pierre also earned second-team all-conference and all-defensive honors.

McNeese’s Dakota Howard is this year’s freshman of the year. Howard leads McNeese in scoring (12.9 PGG), steals (84) for an average of 2.8 per game, field goal percent (49.5) and rebounds per game (6.13). She leads the SLC in steals (84) and steals per game (2.8). The freshman from Bossier City, Louisiana, leads McNeese in scoring in 20 games and recorded four double doubles. Howard also earned first-team all-conference and all-defensive honors.

UTRGV’s Jalayah Ingram won newcomer of the year, after two seasons at McLennan in the NJCAA. She leads the team and is second in the SLC averaging 17.1 PPG in league contests while shooting 40.8% from the field in 21 games. Ingram averages 4.3 assists/game and has a 1.40 assist/TO ratio. She dished out more than five assists in 12 of 20 conference games played, as she leads the conference and is top 5 in the nation in overall free throws made and total attempts. 

In addition to Atamah on the All-SLC first team is Howard, Ingram, UTRGV’s Charlotte O’Keefe and SFA’s Key Roseby. 

Second-team All-Conference is made up of Pierre, East Texas A&M’s Tiani Ellison, Lamar’s Kamryn Wilson, Northwestern State’s Nya Valentine and SFA’s Harmanie Dominguez.

The All-Defensive Team is made up of Pierre, Howard, O’Keefe, Nicholls’ Tanita Swift and SFA’s Aziyah Farrier. 

The Southland Conference women’s basketball all-conference teams and superlative awards are nominated for and voted upon by the league’s head coaches and SIDs.

The Air Force Reserve Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by Louisiana Office of Tourism begins on Monday, March 9th in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The first round, second round and semi-final games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The Championship will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 4 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 12th.

2025-26 Southland Women’s Basketball Superlative Awards
Player of the Year - Vernell Atamah, Northwestern State
Defensive Player of the Year - Jalencia Pierre, McNeese 
Coach of the Year - Ayla Guzzardo, McNeese
Freshman of the Year - Dakota Howard, McNeese
Newcomer of the Year - Jalayah Ingram, UTRGV

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE

Dakota Howard	McNeese	Fr.	F	Bossier City, Louisiana
Vernell Atamah	Northwestern St.	So.	F	Mesquite, Texas
Key Roseby	SFA	So.	G	Frisco, Texas
Jalayah Ingram	UTRGV	Jr.	G	Pearland, Texas
Charlotte O'Keefe	UTRGV	Sr.	F	Overland Park, Kansas

SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE

Tiani Ellison	East Texas A&M	R-So.	G	Durant, Oklahoma
Kamryn Wilson	Lamar	So.	G	Grand Prairie, Texas
Jalencia Pierre	McNeese	Sr.	G	Springfield, Louisiana
Nya Valentine	Northwestern State	Gr.	G	Mobile, Alabama
Harmanie Dominguez	SFA	Sr.	G	Las Cruces, New Mexico

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM

Dakota Howard	McNeese	Fr.	F	Bossier City, Louisiana
Jalencia Pierre	McNeese	Gr.	F	Kansas City, Missouri
Tanita Swift	Nicholls	G	Sr.	Birmingham, Alabama
Aziyah Farrier	SFA	Fr.	G	Frisco, Texas
Charlotte O'Keefe	UTRGV	Sr.	F	Overland Park, Kansas