Feb. 10, 2005
HUNTSVILLE - Lamar's Megan McDougald led a trio of Lady Cardinals in double figures with a team-high 11 points, but it was not enough to hold off Sam Houston State, as the Bearkats posted a 65-59 Southland Conference victory Thursday night at Johnson Coliseum.
The loss was the fourth straight for Lamar, dropping the Lady Cardinals to 8-13 overall and 2-8 in SLC play. Sam Houston snapped a five-game skid and improved to 6-14 on the year with a 3-6 league record. McDougald, a junior from The Woodlands, drained 3-of-6 shots from the field and 4-of-7 from the free throw line en route to her team-high point total. She led LU with nine first-half points and finished the game with four rebounds and a blocked shot.
Junior Jameslon Knowles, a native of Port Arthur, took advantage of a season-high 21 minutes of action by scoring a career-best eight points. She dropped in a pair of three-pointers and pulled down two rebounds for the Lady Cards.
After beginning the second half with a one-point lead (35-34), the Lady Cardinals were able to hang tough against SHSU despite struggling from the floor. The two teams traded the lead 14 times in the first 13 minutes before the Bearkats, who also struggled offensively, grabbed the lead for good with 6:42 left to play on a free throw by Jamie Barr.
Sam Houston outscored the Lady Cards 9-3 over the next 5:35 to take a seven-point lead with 1:07 remaining in the game. Lamar was able to trim the lead to four with 19 seconds on the clock on a jumper by Audrea Samuel. Unfortunately, LU's desperation shots in the waning seconds proved unsuccessful and the Bearkats emerged with the win.
A junior from Beaumont, Samuel finished the contest with 10 points and a game-high five rebounds. She also handed out a career-high four assists. Sophomore Alexis Timpone also recorded 10 points for LU, converting 3-of-5 field goals with all three makes from beyond the arc. The Tempe, Arizona product added four rebounds and two steals in a season-high 23 minutes.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, as both teams combined for seven ties and nine lead changes. SHSU scored the opening basket at 19:25 before Lamar answered with four straight points from McDougald. The period was extremely close as neither team held more than a four-point lead throughout the frame.
With 4:27 on the clock and the scored tied at 25-25, the Lady Cards built a four-point advantage with four straight points from freshman Shaquita Coffey. SHSU cut the lead back to one with 2:01 left in the half, before LU pushed its lead back to four on a trey by Timpone. The Bearkats scored the final three points of the half and entered the intermission trailing by one.
The Lady Cardinals finished the first frame with a 50.0 field goal percentage, connecting on 13-of-26 shots from the field, including 5-of-9 from three-point range. SHSU was only able to manage a 34.5% clip (10-of-29) against Lamar's man-to-man defense, but the Bearkats stayed in the game with an 80.0% mark from the free throw line, hitting 12-of-15 in the opening stanza.
Sam Houston was led by Barr with a game-high 13 points, while Crystal Jackson added 12 points and six rebounds. Erica Parker and Shauna Singleton each added 11 for the Bearkats.
LU finished the game shooting 38.9 percent from the floor (21-of-54), while SHSU recorded a 35.6% clip (21-of-59) for the game. Sam Houston was the 14th opponent this season held under 40% from the floor.
LU continues its two-game road trip on Saturday, taking on the University of Texas-Arlington at 1:30 p.m. in Texas Hall at Arlington.
