Jan. 18, 2007
CONWAY, Ark. - The Lamar University women's basketball had its five game winning streak snapped Thursday night by the UCA Sugar Bears, falling 74-71 in overtime at the Farris Center.
The Lady Cardinals could not overcome a dominate Sugar Bear performance on the glass, as LU was out rebounded 56-39, with 24 rebounds coming on the offensive end for UCA. The rebounding discrepancy led to 23 second chance points for the Sugar Bears, while Lamar came up with just two second chance points.
The Lady Cardinals trailed for the majority of the game as they could not stop the Sugar Bears offense which scored 18 second chance points in regulation. Lamar finally got their offense going in the final five minutes, as they nearly stole the game with a late run.
Lamar took a two point lead with 15 seconds to play on a Dionne Pounds jumper on the baseline, but Renita Dobbins answered for UCA, knocking down two free throws with 10 seconds to play. Lamar had one chance too win the game in regulation, but Pounds came up short on a three pointer at the buzzer.
Lamar quickly took a one point lead in overtime on a Quiana N'Joku jumper with 2:50 to play, but UCA responded with a 6-0 run to take a five point lead. The Lady Cards were unable to overcome the deficit in the closing moments, as UCA held them off by sinking their free throws.
After Pounds was fouled while shooting a three with one second to play she sank two free throws and purposely missed the third, but Lamar could not get off a shot before the final buzzer went off.
In overtime both teams knocked down 2-5 field goals, but UCA made five of seven free throws while LU knocked down just two of seven.
The first half saw UCA jump out to an early lead before Lamar found their offensive footing. The Lady Cards trialed by eight points before making a run to get within one point at with three minutes to play, but the Sugar Bears finished the half on an 8-2 run, taking a 35-27 lead into the locker room.
Central Arkansas controlled the first half by out rebounding the Lady Cardinals to a tune of 26 to 17. Seven of UCA's rebounds came on the offensive end, which gave them a chance to wear down the LU defense.
Williams led the way for Lamar in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 10 points on 4-6 shooting while knocking down 2-3 free throws. Pounds added eight points for the Lady Cards, who shot just 37.9 percent from the field, while UCA shot 42.9 percent.
For the game, Williams led the way with a career-high 25 points on 9-12 shooting from the field, while Pounds chipped in with 20 points. LaToya Carson also finished with double digits in the points column, scoring 14.
UCA was led by Caronica Randle's 10 points, while Mariesha Figgee had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Meaghen Kellybrew and Dobbins also had solid games, scoring 12 and 11 points respectively.
As a team, the Lady Cards out shot UCA 43.8 to 33.3 percent, but LU was shot just 52.2 percent performance from the free throw line (13-23), while the Sugar Bears sank 15-22 for 58.2 percent.
The Lady Cardinals will be in action Saturday when they head to Natchitoches, La. for a 2 p.m. showdown with Northwestern State.
