Nov. 19, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. – Larry Tidwell tied the program record for career victories as the Lamar Lady Cardinals rolled over Ole Miss 85-71 in a non-conference women's basketball game Monday night.

Tidwell (109-56) equaled the mark set by Pat Park, who posted a 109-70 record at Lamar from 1972-78.

“This win isn't about me.” Tidwell said. “This is about our players. We beat a good team from the SEC tonight. This is a tremendous win for us.”

Kalis Loyd led Lamar (3-1) with 27 points and nine rebounds as she moved into third place on Lamar's all-time scoring list. Loyd has 1,505 points, behind only Carol Sims (1,571) and Uirannah Jackson (1,730) in the LU record books.

Loyd moved past Brittney Williams into third place on a layup with 8:21 remaining in the first half that gave the Lady Cardinals a 21-13 lead. Loyd was 12-of-15 from the field for the night, helping the Lady Cardinals shoot 57.9 percent (33-of-57) from the floor for the game.

Dominique Edwards had a career-high 21 points, while Carenn Baylor (14 points) and Shauna Long (10 points) matched career highs. Gia Ayers handed out a career-high 13 assists, tied for the third most in a single game in Lamar history.

Lamar led 41-28 at halftime and led by as many as 19 points in the second half en route to its third straight win. Lamar is 2-2 in the all-time series with Ole Miss, defeating the Rebels in each of the last two seasons.

Gracie Frizzell led Ole Miss (2-1) with 21 points.

Lamar is at Louisiana-Monroe at 2 p.m. Wednesday before returning home to host Our Lady of the Lake at 7 p.m. Monday.

“We face another team from a good conference (Sun Belt) when we play Louisiana-Monroe,” Tidwell said. “I'm not thinking about setting the record. I'm just thinking about getting another win and getting back to the NCAA Tournament.”

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