Jan. 31, 2013

BEAUMONT, Texas – Kalis Loyd was honored before the game, but it was Dominique Edwards who stole the show in Lamar's 53-34 win over visiting Northwestern State in a Southland Conference women's basketball game Thursday at the Montagne Center.

Loyd, who became Lamar's all-time leading scorer in Saturday's game at Central Arkansas, received a basketball commemorating the milestone from Uirannah Lovely, the former record holder. When the game started, however, it was all Edwards, who matched a career high with 21 points, 19 of them in the first half.

"I had my mojo going early," said Edwards, who was 6-of-6 from the field in the first half, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range. "I kind of slowed down in the second half, but we had other people step up."

Edwards' first half explosion powered the Lady Cardinals (13-6 overall, 6-3 Southland) to a 33-18 lead. Edwards added six rebounds for Lamar, which has won nine straight against Northwestern State (7-12, 3-6).

"Dominique has blossomed as an offensive player," Lamar coach Larry Tidwell said of the sophomore transfer from Lon Morris College. "She didn't shoot the 3 at Lon Morris, but has done so here. She also knows how to get to the rim."

Loyd had six points to go along with game highs of eight rebounds and four steals for Lamar.

"Kalis has had a lot of pressure on her regarding the record," Tidwell said. "She also played 45 minutes at Central Arkansas. She's a little fatigued and didn't score like she usually does, but she did a lot of other things to help us win."

Alice Robinson also had six points for the Lady Cardinals.

Jasmine Upchurch led Northwestern State with 13 points. Keisha Lee had nine points in the loss.

"We did a good job defensively," Tidwell said. "We held them to 27.5 percent shooting (14-of-51) and outrebounded them. "After three tough games on the road, it's nice to be back home."

Lamar returns to action at 4 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Stephen F. Austin in a Southland Conference game. That is the opening contest of a doubleheader, with the Lamar men meeting SFA at 6 p.m.  Both of Saturday's games will be aired live on KLVI (AM 560). For ticket information, call (409) 880-1715, or visit http://www.lamarcardinals.com/tickets/whoops-tickets.html.

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