Byrd directed the UNA women's program for the next 16 years, winning 232 games while leading the Lions to one Gulf South Conference championship and four NCAA Division II regionals.

The UNA women's basketball program received its first NCAA Division II Top 20 ranking on January 16, 1984, when the Lions debuted in the poll at No.

In 1993–94, Byrd led the Lions an NCAA South Regional championship and a third-place finish at the Division II Elite Eight in Fargo, N.D.

The Wayne Byrd era at UNA also included three All-Americans, with LaConger Cohran and Brenda Mayes earning national awards in 1985, and Serita Gauldin becoming the school's first, first-team All-America pick in women's basketball in 1998.

Terry Fowler became the sixth head women's basketball coach in UNA history in 2006 and took the first step in rebuilding the winning tradition with a solid 14–14 mark in his inaugural season.

UNA's Amber Rutherford led Division II in free throw percentage at 93.7, and the Lions returned to the Gulf South Conference Tournament for the first time since 2003.

Led by a senior class that won a school-record 85 games and included the top two scorers in program history, the Lions set 14 school records at the single-season and career levels.