Jan. 29, 2005
BEAUMONT - Junior Audrea Samuel scored a team-high 16 points to lead a trio of Lady Cardinals in double figures, but Lamar was unable to complete a second half comeback bid on Saturday afternoon, falling to Louisiana-Monroe 61-59 in Southland Conference action at the Montagne Center.
The loss dropped Lamar to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in conference play. ULM improved to 11-7 on the year with a 4-3 SLC record. LU returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 3 with a 5:45 p.m. league game at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
Trailing by 16 (25-41) with 11:17 left to play in the second half, the Lady Cardinals went on a 14-3 run over the next three minutes to trim the ULM lead to five, 42-47. Junior Shayla Lacy was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line during the run. She went on to finish the game with a career-high 11 points, including an 8-of-8 night from the charity stripe.
ULM pushed its lead back to eight after two free throws from Aishie Banks, but Lamar's tenacious full-court press and strong defense held the Lady Indians to only one field goal over the next 7:48. During that span, the Lady Cards continued to chip away at the ULM lead with a series of flawless trips to the free throw line.
Sophomore LaToya Carson started the parade to the charity stripe, knocking down four consecutive attempts. Samuel followed with four straight and Lacy sunk a pair to put Lamar within two (55-57) with 2:34 remaining. Just over a minute later, sophomore Alexis Timpone took advantage of Michelle Biley's fifth personal foul by calmly drilling both shots of the double bonus to tie the score at 57-57 with 1:19 on the clock.
On the Lady Cardinals ensuing possession, Samuel gave Lamar its first lead since the 12:57 mark of the first half by converting an Aida Bakhos pass for a lay up with 39 seconds left to play. Following a ULM timeout, the Lady Indians' Gerline Guillaume answered with a three-pointer from the top of the key to give Louisiana-Monroe the lead for good 60-59.
ULM made only one of four free throws in the final 23 seconds, but the Lady Cardinals were unable to secure the defensive rebounds and the Lady Indians escaped with the two-point win, 61-59.
Samuel, a forward from Beaumont, hit 5-of-10 shots from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line en route to her 16 point total. She also grabbed four rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Carson, a native of Long Beach, Mississippi, finished with 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds. She hit 4-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the line.
Timpone was a perfect 2-of-2 across the board, making both three-point and free throw attempts. She finished with eight points and added one rebound, one assist and one block. Megan McDougald, a junior from The Woodlands, added three points, six rebounds and two blocks for Lamar.
ULM was led by Guillaume with a game-high 20 points and she also chipped in with seven boards. Michelle Biley hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds, while recording seven points, and Nina Randle finished with eight points and five rebounds.
The first half was a battle of attrition for both teams, as each squad made only seven field goals apiece. The two teams traded baskets during the first 10 minutes, until ULM used a 14-5 run to break a 9-9 tie and grab a 23-14 lead with 4:23 remaining in the period. Lamar trimmed the lead to eight at the half (29-21) after McDougald sunk a pair of free throws.
Lamar finished the game with a 32.6 field goal percentage (15-of-46), after overcoming a sluggish 26.9% mark in the first half. ULM was limited to 30.2% from the floor for the game (16-of-53). LU has now held eight opponents to 35% shooting or less this season.
Both teams were hot from the free throw line, as Lamar finished with a season-best 80.6% clip (25-of-31) and ULM made 23-of-33 (69.7%).
