Jan. 4, 2011
BEAUMONT, Texas - Trashanna Smith's record-setting night highlighted the Lamar University women's basketball team's 69-60 victory over Houston in a non-conference game at the Montagne Center on Tuesday.
Smith, who had nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds, blocked three shots to become Lamar's all-time leader in that category. Smith ended the game with 180 blocked shots, surpassing the record of 178 set by Uirannah Jackson.
Lamar (11-3) extended its home-court winning streak to 20 games. The Lady Cardinals have won 28 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents, Few of those wins were bigger than Tuesday's, as Lamar defeated a Houston team that entered the game with an RPI of 80 according to the NCAA. Lamar entered the game with an RPI of 129. With the loss, Houston fell to 9-4.
The Lady Cardinals trailed by as many as 12 points (46-34, 14:58 remaining) before chipping away at the lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ang Green and Jasmin Henderson capped a 10-0 Lamar run to cut the deficit to 46-44 with 13:08 remaining.
"Our boat was sinking, but Ang and Jasmin hit those big 3-pointers and got us right back into the game," Lamar coach Larry Tidwell said. "We got our swagger back."
The game stayed close for most of the remainder of the contest. Lamar took the lead for good when Smith hit a pair of free throws with 1:26 left to give LU a 61-59 lead. After that, Houston struggled on its final five possessions. Two of those possessions ended on turnovers and two more on missed shots that Lamar rebounded.
On its other possession in the final 90 seconds, the Cougars made one of two free throws. Meanwhile, Lamar went 10-for-10 from the line down the stretch as the Cougars were forced to foul. Before that, Lamar hit just 10 of its first 17 attempts from the charity stripe.
"Making our free throws down the stretch was crucial," Tidwell said. "We struggled early, but we know we're capable of making our free throws."
Plumley led Lamar with 17 points. Monique Whittaker had 16 points, while Green and Kalis Loyd had 10 points apiece.
Brittney Scott led Houston with 19 points.
The win closed out Lamar's non-conference schedule. The Lady Cardinals open defense of their Southland Conference crown by hosting Central Arkansas at 2 p.m. Saturday.
"This was a big win, but it doesn't mean anything if we don't take care of business against Central Arkansas on Saturday," Tidwell said.
Tickets for Saturday's game are available on the official Web site of Lamar athletics: www.LamarCardinals.com, or by calling (409) 880-1715.
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