BATON ROUGE, La. – The HCU women's basketball team will open the 2025-26 season on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 7:00 p.m. at No. 5 LSU inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The game will stream on SEC Network+. 

HCU enters year one under head coach Drew Long, the sixth head coach in program history. Long came to HCU in April after orchestrating a turnaround at McMurry that saw the Warhawks go from a two-win team the year before his hire to reaching the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen last year, his fourth in charge of the program.

Long's first roster blends returners with a heavy transfer class. Returning players include sophomore guard Madelyne Davis, junior guard Hannah Fields, junior guard Tove Caesar and senior forward Jo Oly. Oly has started 40 games while appearing in 80 during her career with the Huskies, totaling 303 points, 323 rebounds, 87 assists, 67 steals and 52 blocked shots. Juniors Hannah Fields and Tove Caesar return with Fields having started 43 of 57 games she has played in while Caesar owns a career 36.1 percent (35-of-97) three-point field goal percentage. Sophomore Madelyne Davis figures to play a bigger role in her second year after appearing in 19 games as a true freshman.

The new group features a deep incoming class highlighted by experience across Division I, Division II and Division III ranks. Senior forward Martyna Czescik (Delta State) and senior guard Remi Langmaid (West Florida / Mineral Area / Murray State College) join the roster as a pair of experienced players. Jordan Jackson joins HCU with two years of eligibility remaining after playing at Wichita State last year. Grace Booth (Tarleton State), Madison Hurta (East Texas Baptist) and Veronika Korchagina (Morehead State) arrive for their sophomore seasons.

HCU also has three freshmen on the roster in Dasia Hyams, Kamryn McLaurin and Sidney Carr. Hyams scored more than 1,000 career points while leading Memorial High School to a 24-8 record as a senior. She averaged 17 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game as a senior en route to District 15-6A Offensive MVP honors. McLaurin, meanwhile, averaged 19.2 ppg, 4.3 spg, 3.7 rpg and 1.4 apg as a senior on a Clear Brook team that 33-4. Carr earned District 9-5A MVP honors last year at Lovejoy High School, averaging 13.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.1 spg and 2.3 apg on a team that went 26-9.

LSU opens the 2025-26 season after an Elite Eight run and returns First-Team All-SEC standouts Flau'Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams. The Tigers added three transfer impact players: MiLaysia Fulwiley (South Carolina), Amiya Joyner (East Carolina) and Kate Kaval (Notre Dame) and bring in the nation's No. 1-ranked freshman class, headlined by Bella Hines. In its exhibition finale, LSU defeated Langston 121-41 while forcing 36 turnovers and seeing six players score in double figures.

Next up, HCU will remain on the road when travelling to Tarleton State on Sunday, November 9 at 2:00 p.m. in Stephenville, Texas.