March 8, 2008
BEAUMONT - The Lamar University women's basketball closed out the 2007-08 regular season with a 53-46 win over the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions Saturday afternoon at the Montagne Center.
The Lady Cardinals improve their record to 17-12 overall and 10-6 in SLC play with the win. The win 10 wins ties the most for an LU women's team in Southland Conference Play. The loss drops Southeastern Louisiana to 12-17 overall and 6-10 in conference play.
Southeastern jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and controlled the tempo for the majority of the first half as they maintained their five point lead until the 8:29 mark of the opening period.
Aida Bakhos knocked down a pair of free throws with 8:29 to play in the half, sparking a 10-0 run over the three minute span which gave Lamar a five point lead of its own. The two teams traded baskets over the final five minutes of the half and LU took a 26-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half the Lady Cardinals offense started out slow and Southeastern was able to claw their way back into the game. A 9-4 SELA run over the first seven minutes tied the game at 30, but that was as close as the Lady Lions would get.
Lamar promptly ripped off a 7-0 run over a minute and a half span which put the Lady Cards in a position to hold on for the win. Southeastern got back to as close as two points with 8:06 to play, but the LU offense responded to every SELA run with a run of their own.
Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch prevented Southeastern from making a comeback, as Lamar sank 10 of 12 freebies in the final 4:25 of the game.
Nikki Williams led the way for Lamar with 20 points and five assists while Aida Bakhos added 10 points in her final game at the Montagne Center. Trashanna Smith and Brittney Williams each tallied eight points for the Lady Cards, while Jasmine Stewart added five points and three steals.
As a team the Lady Cardinals shot 37.5 percent from the field and grabbed 25 rebounds, while SELA shot 42.5 percent and grabbed 28 boards. Lamar won the turnover battle with 15 giveaways to Southeastern's 23. Eleven of the Lady Lions turnovers came by way of LU steals.
The Lady Cards will be back in action on Wednesday night at 8:30 when they play in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tournament at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
