Hockey was introduced in Argentina by English immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century, and the first women's teams were officially formed in 1909. In 1997, Sergio Vigil, a former player for the men's national team, was appointed coach. Under his leadership, Las Leonas achieved their first World Hockey Cup title, their first Olympic medals, their first Champions Trophy medals, and many other achievements.

The team went from having a rather limited audience to becoming a national sensation, with some of the players even appearing as models in advertising campaigns.

Throughout its history, the team has developed a reputation for being tenacious even when a match appears to be lost. For this reason, a lioness was chosen as their symbol when the team qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics.

During the second round of games, Argentina played against the powerful Dutch team, and they chose this occasion to place the image of a lioness on their shirts for the first time. Argentina won that match, went on to win the silver medal, and Las Leonas were born.

The name also falls in line with an unwritten Argentine tradition of naming national teams after big cats: the men's Los Pumas and the women's Las Panteras.