Feb. 20, 2010

BEAUMONT, Texas - Brittany Williams had 18 points to lead five players in double figures to power the Lamar University women's basketball team to an 84-67 win over visiting Northwestern State in a Southland Conference game Saturday.

Williams became the third player in Lamar history to eclipse the 1,400-point mark for her career. The senior ended the game with 1,414 points. Carol Sims is second on the Lamar all-time scsoring list with 1,571 points.

Kalis Loyd had 15 points for Lamar (20-6 overall, 10-2 conference), as the Lady Cardinals registered back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons. Danielle Heithoff added a career-high 13 points, Darika Hill finished with 11 points and Jenna Plumley notched her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 assists.

Northwestern State (13-12, 6-6) also had five players score in double figures, led by Brittany Houston, Brooke Shepherd and Trudy Armstead with 14 points apiece.

Lamar led by as many as 29 points in the second half before the Lady Demons fought back to make the score respectable. Lamar held a 48-35 lead at intermission as the Lady Cardinals improved to 15-0 when leading at the break.

"We just ran out of gas at the end," Lamar coach Larry Tidwell said. "That's something we have to work on."

Trashanna Smith had three blocked shots on the game for the Lady Cardinals as she set a Lamar single-season record for blocked shots. Smith ended the game ith 61, one better than the previous mark of 60 set by Uirannah Jackson in 1989-90.

Lamar returns to action at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday when it hosts UT Arlington. For ticket information, call (409) 880-1715 or log on to www.lamarcardinals.com.

LAMAR