Nov. 26, 2011

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Kalis Loyd was just three assists shy of a triple-double as she led the Lamar University women's basketball team to a 66-61 win over Florida Atlantic at the Basketball Travelers Classic on Saturday.

Loyd finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and tied her career high of seven assists for her second double-double of the season and 16tth of her career. Brateicka Mock tied a career-high with 12 points as Lamar (5-2) bounced back from Friday's loss to Kansas.

"We shot the ball much better today," Lamar coach Larry Tidwell said. "We got a good effort from everybody."

Less than 24 hours after shooting less than 20 percent against Kansas, the Lady Cardinals shot 46 percent (23-of-50) against the Owls. Lamar's 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) effort from 3-point range was a marked step up from Friday's 0-of-21 performance.

The Lady Cardinals never trailed in the second half. The Owls (3-3) tied it at 32 on an April Goins layup with 17:00 remaining, but Lamar took control with a 9-1 run punctuated by a Gia Ayers 3-pointer. The Owls would cut the lead to 1 at 62-61 with 29.9 second remaining on a Latavia Dempsey, but Lamar would seal the win as Loyd and Mock each drained a pair of free throws.

"We hit some big free throws down the stretch," Tidwell said. "Brateicka hit two huge free throws to put us up by three, and then Kalis closed it out with two more."

Taylor Hays added nine points for Lamar. Dempsey and Chenise Miller had 13 points apiece for Florida Atlantic, while Goins finished with 11 points.

Lamar held a 38-35 rebounding advantage.

The Lady Cardinals return to action at 11 a.m. Sunday as they wrap up their participation in the tournament by facing IUPUI.

"We played 10 players today, so we should be Ok for Sunday," Tidwell said. "Kalis might be a little winded, but everybody else should be fine."

Sunday's game will be broadcast live on the official website of Lamar athletics: LamarCardinals.com.

LAMAR