March 9, 2010

KATY, Texas - Darika Hill had her seventh double-double of the season to go along with a career-high five blocks to power the top-seeded Lamar University women's basketball team to an 88-64 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in the first round of the State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament on Tuesday evening.

Hill had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead Lamar (24-7) in both categories. Ang Green came off the bench to score 12 points for Lamar, Jenna Plumley had 11 points and Ashley Crawford added 10 points for the Lady Cardinals.

Lamar never trailed in the game, and led 42-19 at halftime, aping the opening 20 minutes on a long-range 3-point buzzer beater by Kalis Loyd off a steal.

"I thought we played a great game," Lamar coach Larry Tidwell said. "We took a big lead early, and that's important because if you let the other team stick around they gain some confidence."

The 88 points were the most ever by Lamar in an SLC tourney game and the 24-point margin of victory was Lamar's largest in SLC tournament play. Lamar's 24 victories are the second most in program history.

Kim Edmonson led eight-seeded Southeastern Louisiana (12-18) with 12 points. Erica Burgess added 10 for the Lions.

Lamar will return to action at 2:33 p.m. Thursday when it faces fifth-seeded UT Arlington. The Mavs advanced with a 69-64 win over two-time defending champion UTSA in Thursday's late game. The championship game is set for 7 p.m. Friday at the Merrell Center in Katy.

All Lamar tournament games will be broadcast live on KLVI (AM 560) with Harold Mann handling the play-by-play chores.

LAMAR