Jan. 12, 2011

BEAUMONT, Texas - All good things must come to an end. The Lamar University women's basketball team learned that lesson Wednesday as it dropped a 57-53 decision to visiting McNeese State in a Southland Conference game.

The loss snapped Lamar's 21-game winning streak at the Montagne Center, falling for the first time on the home hardwood since a 71-55 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 4, 2009. The loss also ended Lamar's seven-game winning streak.

""We had a rough night, but we'll bounce back," Lamar coach Larry Tidwell said after seeing his team post its lowest offensive output of the season. "We had a lot of open looks, but we just didn't hit them. We must have missed a dozen chip shots."

Lamar (12-4 overall, 1-1 SLC) shot 30.4 percent (17-of-56) from the field, the same as McNeese State, and had six 3-pointers to McNeese State's four. But the Cowgirls (10-5, 2-0) outscored Lamar 19-13 from the foul line to grab the victory.

Kalis Loyd had her second double-double of the season and ninth of her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Lamar. Jasmin Henderson added 12 points, while Jenna Plumley had 11 points and a game-high five assists for Lamar.

Lamar was without the services of Trashanna Smith, the team's leading rebounder, who was injured in Saturday's win over Central Arkansas.

"Not having Tray made a big difference," Plumley said. "She gets a lot of rebounds and blocked shots. Plus, she plays big-time defense.

Lamar returns to action at 2 p.m. Saturday when it hosts UT Arlington in a Southland Conference game.

"We're going to have another fight on our hands," Tidwell said. "We can't have many nights like these if we want to defend our conference championship."

For ticket information, visit the official Web site of Lamar athletics: www.LamarCardinals.com, or call (409) 880-1715.

LAMAR