Feb. 27, 2014

TULSA, Okla. - Kiandra Bowers notched her third double-double of the season, but it wasn't enough to keep the Lamar Lady Cardinals from dropping an 82-78 decision to host Oral Roberts in a Southland Conference women's basketball game Thursday.

With the loss, Lamar (15-11 overall, 10-5 Southland) fell into a second-place tie with Stephen F. Austin with three games remaining. Lamar is two games behind Central Arkansas.

"Oral Roberts wanted it more than we did," Lamar coach Robin Harmony said. "We don't do the little things that we need to do to win."

Lamar, which led by as many as eight points in the first half before falling behind by 14 points early in the second half, led by four points with 5:27 remaining before Oral Roberts took the lead for good with a 7-0 run.

"We had a chance to go up by six points with five minutes to go, and then we miss a layup," Harmony said. "After that, we miss two 3-pointers and have a turnover. We can't handle the pressure (of being in a fight for first place)."

Bowers had 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the Lady Cardinals. JaMeisha Edwards had 19 points, Dominique Edwards had 16 points and Shauna Long added 15 points for the Lady Cardinals.

Lamar struggled from the field, shooting 31.3 percent (25-of-80) from the field. The Lady Cardinals were 13-of-38 (34.2) percent from 3-point range. The 13 treys tied for the fourth-highest single game total in Lamar history.

Oral Roberts was 28-of-47 (59.6 percent) from the floor, including a 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) effort from 3-point range.

"We missed too many in-close shots," Harmony said. "You can't be a top team and lose games like this in February."

Christian Ley led Oral Roberts (8-17, 7-8) with 26 points. Sarah Shelton had 13 points, Bernadett Balla and Atoe' Jackson had 12 points, while Kaylan Mayberry finished with 10 points. Balla had a double-double, finishing with 11 rebounds.

Lamar returns to action at 2 p.m. Saturday when it travels to league-leading Central Arkansas. That game will be carried on KLVI (AM 560) and simulcast on www.LamarCardinals.com. The Lady Cardinals close out the regular season with a pair of home games, hosting New Orleans at 5:30 p.m. March 6 and Southeastern Louisiana at 4 p.m. March 8.

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