By Jeff Faraudo
Correspondent
The LMU women’s basketball team, tied for first place and the surprise of the West Coast Conference this season after being picked ninth by the league’s head coaches in the preseason poll, takes aim at its seventh straight victory today. The Lions host San Diego at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
How long has it been since LMU won seven consecutive conference games? It was during the 2003-04 season, when coach Aarika Hughes was a 10th grader at Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore. Senior guard and team captain Andjela Matic, who grew up in Ub, Serbia — with evidence of civilization dating back to 5,000 BC — hadn’t yet reached her first birthday.
These Lions (18-8, 12-3) have more in common with the squad of 22 years ago than a win streak. They are within reach of the program-record 24 victories of that 2003-04 season, already compiling the most wins since the 19-win season of 2017-18. The conference victory total is one shy of what the 2003-04 team compiled.
The current team would like to follow the path of the best team in program history to two other milestones by winning West Coast Conference title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Those were ambitions Matic carried when she entered the transfer portal last spring after one season at Duquesne following two at Vermont.
“One of the things that really stood out for me was the team (talking about) winning the championship,” she said. “Not to trick you . . . I just felt honesty from their side and their perspective.”
Hughes, hoping to see her program strive for a title in her fifth season as head coach, sensed that Matic would be a good fit. “Knowing that was a focal point for her and a focal point for us, along with some other things Andjela was searching for, I was able to continue to talk about building relationships.
"And talking about the leadership aspect and growing champions on and off the court and what that looked like on a day-to-day basis. We’re really fortunate that she was willing to take a leap of faith.”
Matic is the Lions’ third-leading scorer at 10.1 points per game, complementing the play of returning junior forward Maya Hernandez (14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds), graduate transfer guard Jess Lawson (14.7 points, 7.6 rebounds) and senior guard Carly Heidger (8.3 points).
Together they have the Lions tied with Gonzaga (20-8, 12-3) for first place, one game ahead of Santa Clara (21-7, 11-4) and preseason favorite Oregon State (19-9, 11-4) in the conference standings. With just three regular-season games left on its schedule, LMU will try to maintain its share of the top spot by avenging its most recent defeat, Jan. 24 at San Diego.
The season highlight for the Lions was their 72-63 home triumph over Gonzaga last Saturday, which snapped a 36-game losing streak in the series dating back to 2008.
Lawson had 16 points and seven steals and Matic added 15 points as LMU scored 23 points off 26 forced turnovers. “You’re going to think I’m crazy when I say this,” Matic said, “but I knew we were going to win.”
Hughes called it a statement win, expressing her admiration for coach Lisa Fortier’s decade-long powerhouse program. “As far as the confidence and the belief it gave my team, honestly, every game I ask them, `Who are we playing?’ And we say LMU. That’s the big thing for us.
“When you snap out of that by the end of 40 minutes and you realize what an impact, what a big win that we had and allow yourself the joy I want our kids to feel, it was huge. We know it’s not over. We know we have a lot of work to do, but that was a big one.”
Hughes applauds her players and especially their efforts on defense, where the Lions have allowed just 59.6 points per game over the past 10 outings. But Matic says their coach deserve a lion’s share of the credit.
“She’s our point guard off the court,” Matic said of Hughes. “She’s always reminding us to have fun. That’s one of the most important things. Stick together and trust the process, trust the plan. We trust her.”
Last summer, the team hadn’t yet found chemistry and Matic said the players didn’t initially mesh. “It took us a month, a month-a-half to get along,” she said. "Practices were rough. The group wasn’t as connected as it is now.”
An August team retreat to Palm Springs began the process of getting everyone on the same page. The Lions splashed in the pool and played pickleball. The coaching staff kept things light by hiding the players’ suitcases on the first night. “They were just being goofy,” Matic said.
The Lions finished their nonconference schedule with a 6-5 record with multiple players out due to injury during the first six weeks. A double-overtime loss at Gonzaga to open conference play hinted at better things ahead and the Lions have lost just once since Jan. 4. Since the turn of the calendar to 2026, the Lions are averaging nearly 10 more points per game, with a 76.0 points per game average in their last 13 contests.
“Having coach Aarika and our coaching staff, their ability to connect us on the court is what makes us even better,” she said. “That’s the reason we were able to find our game and why we’re getting better every day.”
Hughes says her approach to coaching and what she values stems from lessons by two men, Alfred Hughes and Mark Trakh. “My Dad and my basketball dad,” she calls them.
Alfred Hughes coached his daughter as a youngster and was an assistant on her high school team, where the head coach was Michael Meek, who now runs the program at conference rival Portland.
“My Dad teaching me to coach with joy, really bringing that sense of confidence and resilience into athletes. To stay humble but work hard. Also be an advocate and stand up for things that are right,” she said. “The tenacity defensively is my Dad.
Trakh recruited Hughes to play at USC, where she became a team captain. She learned game strategy, discipline, college-level work ethic from Trakh. “And the confidence,” she said.
Hughes later coached under Trakh at both USC and New Mexico State, but it was during his sophomore or junior year with the Trojans that he set her on a career path beyond her playing days. “You’re going to be a head coach one day,” he told her.
“A lot of times black females are pegged into the recruiting role because we can relate to the demographic,” Hughes said. Trakh convinced Hughes not to limit herself but to take full advantage of her personality and basketball acumen.
“He was constantly challenging me, pushing me and teaching me,” she recalled. “When I got my shot, the first thing he told me was, `Do not pass that clipboard. You are so much more than that.’ Any minority female that worked for him, he was such an advocate. He was huge for me.”
All that explains why after LMU’s win over Gonzaga last week Hughes sought out the two men who profoundly influenced her basketball career. “I went up in the stands and hugged them immediately after the game,” she said. “The combination of those two men shaping me with my head-coaching experience, I couldn’t be more fortunate.”
Matic feels the same way about her one season at LMU. As the Lions celebrate their seniors on Saturday afternoon, she’s not ready for this season to be over.
Matic is the only player on the LMU roster who has experienced the NCAA Tournament. As a freshman reserve at Vermont, she got onto the floor for the final minute of a first-round loss to UConn. Now, she and her teammates believe an NCAA berth is within their grasp.
“We were talking about it the other day. `Can you imagine?’ It feels crazy,” she said. “But at the same time, you make sure you’ve done everything to get there and you know that you belong there. We’ve worked for it. It’s more than possible for us.”