BATON ROUGE, La. (Interstat) — The Southern women’s basketball team looks to solidify its standing in the Southwestern Athletic Conference on Thursday when it hosts Florida A&M at Clark Activity Center. The Lady Jaguars (14-11 overall) enter the matchup with a more successful season record than the visiting Lady Rattlers (7-19), but Southern seeks to avenge a 60-57 road loss to Florida A&M on Jan. 10. That result gives the Lady Rattlers confidence despite a recent skid, having lost five of their last six games. Their most recent outing was a 62-59 home loss to Alabama State on Saturday. Southern is coming off a strong defensive performance, a 59-45 victory over Grambling on Saturday. The Lady Jaguars have won three of their last four. A key matchup will feature two of the SWAC’s top players. Florida A&M is led by guard Tahnyjia Purifoy, a consistent offensive catalyst who is averaging 12.5 points and 4.2 assists over her last six games. She scored 10 points with five assists in the Jan. 10 win over Southern. Southern counters with forward Demya Porter, a dominant interior force. She is averaging 8.2 points and 5.6 rebounds, but showcased her full potential in the win over Grambling with a stat line of 17 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots. For Florida A&M to pull another upset, they will need production beyond Purifoy. Shaniyah McCarthy (14 points) and Breazia Robinson (10 points, seven rebounds) were key in the last game against Alabama State. Southern will rely on Porter’s paint presence and the backcourt play of Mykayla Cunningham, who dished out seven assists against Grambling. Tip-off is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26, at Clark Activity Center. Southern’s next game is at home against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. Florida A&M’s next contest is at home against Bethune-Cookman on March 5.