Nov. 12, 2006

BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar University women's basketball team opened the 2006-07 season with a 69-52 loss to the New Mexico State Aggies at the Montagne Center.

New Mexico State took advantage of Lamar's offensive struggles to open a lead in the first half and pull away in the second half. The Lady Cardinals shot just 18.9 percent in the first half and 28.6 percent in the second half, posting a 23.1 field goal percentage for the game.

While Lamar struggled offensively, New Mexico State shot 44.4 percent from the field for the game. In the first half the Aggies opened up a 13 point halftime lead at 31 to 18 while shooting 43.8 percent from the field. Their hot shooting continued in the second half as they shot 45.2 percent, building their lead to as much as 22 points.

The Lady Cardinals made several runs in the second half though. Lamar cut NMSU's lead to 12 points with a three pointer by Alexis Timpone, Bringing LU to within 49-27 with 10:08 to play. The Aggies however responded to LU's run with an 11-1 run of their own to take control of the game.

For the game, the Lady Cardinals were led offensively by senior LaToya Carson and Brittney Williams who each scored 12 points. Junior Quiana N'Joku had a solid debut for the Lamar, grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds and scoring eight points.

The Aggies were led by Anika Jawara's 18 points, while Sherell Neal and Cecili Russell-Nava each added 11 points.

The two teams tied the battle of the boards, each grabbing 46 rebounds. The Lady Cardinals turned the ball over 20 times to NMSU's 22 and each team blocked five shots.

The Lady Cardinals will be in action again Tuesday night when they take on Alcorn State at 7 p.m. at the Montagne Center.