WASHINGTON (February 19, 2026) – Howard University softball team travels to Baton Rouge, La., for the Purple & Gold Challenge, hosted by LSU, where they will play five games during the three-day tournament (Feb. 20-22).
 
The Lady Bison open the tournament against the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Friday (Feb. 20) at 2:30 p.m. (ET). They will face Louisiana again Saturday (Feb. 21) at noon (ET), followed by a matchup with the Michigan State (MSU) Spartans at 2:30 p.m. (ET). Sunday (Feb. 22), Howard takes on MSU at noon (ET) before wrapping up the tournament against No. 12/10 LSU at 2:30 p.m. (ET).
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
 
Bison Nation can follow all the action via live stats, ESPN+ and/or SEC+.
 
WEEKEND PREVIEW
 
HOWARD
 
Last weekend (Feb. 13-15), the Lady Bison finished 3-1 at the HBCU Collegiate Invitational in Covington, Ga.
 
Graduate infielder Taylor Ames-Alexander (Lancaster, S.C.) earned MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Player of the Week, hitting .429 with nine RBIs, five runs scored and three home runs. She currently paces the MEAC in home runs (3) and RBIs (14), ranking 37^th, nationally, in RBIs.
 
LOUISIANA
 
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns competed in the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational (Feb. 13–15), earning wins against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-1), Ole Miss (8-5) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23-0, f/5), while suffering losses to Ole Miss (2-5) and Prairie View A&M (5-6). Louisiana later fell to Florida State (0-8, f/5) and enters the weekend looking to bounce back.
 
MICHIGAN STATE
 
The Michigan State Spartans competed in the Queen City Classic (Feb. 13–15), securing wins over Virginia Tech (7-6) and Villanova (9-8) while falling to Charlotte twice (0-8, f/5; 13-16). Their final matchup against Virginia Tech was canceled.
 
LSU
 
The LSU Tigers competed in the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational (Feb. 12–15), earning a win over Oklahoma State (9-4) while falling to Nebraska (0-6), Duke (3-5), UCF (1-5) and UCLA (0-8, f/6). LSU later rebounded with a 10-2 (f/5) victory over South Alabama.
 
LAST TIMEOUT
 
At the HBCU Collegiate Invitational, the Lady Bison opened the weekend with an 11-1 (f/5) victory over Alabama A&M. Howard then fell to Southern, 8-5. The Lady Bison bounced back with wins against Texas Southern (7-4) and North Carolina A&T State (4-2) while their final matchup against Alcorn State was canceled.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
 
On Feb. 27-March 1, HU heads to Tucson, Ariz., to compete in the Hillenbrand Invitational, hosted by the Arizona Wildcats.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.hubison.com.