BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University women's basketball team rolled to the third-largest margin of victory in program history Thursday night in a 99-34 win over Louisiana College in the Cardinals' home opener.
 
The Cardinals (1-2) picked up right where they left off in the fourth quarter against Utah on Tuesday, rolling to a 63-15 lead at halftime and never looking back against the Lady Wildcats. LU had four players score in double figures led by Addesha Collins with 17 points. JaMeisha Edwards had 15 points, freshman Kiara Desamours had a career-high 14 points, while Teleshia Riley added 10 points.
 
"We showed we have depth and that we can score," LU coach Robin Harmony said. "We gave everybody a chance to prove themselves."
 
All 11 LU players had at least four points and one rebound in the game. Sophomore Marquelle Williams had a game-high 10 rebounds to set a career high. Williams also added a career-high six points. Freshman point guard Chastadie Barrs had seven points to go along with career highs of 11 assists, nine rebounds and six steals.
 
"We were excited to finally play at home," Barrs said. "We wanted to show what we could do."
 
The 15 points were a season high for Edwards, who is coming back from an injury. Edwards was 6-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
 
"It felt good to hit some shots early and get some confidence," Edwards said. "I needed that."
 
The Cardinals also used a strong defensive effort in the win, forcing 27 Louisiana College turnovers while holding the Lady Wildcats to 24.1 percent shooting from the field (14-of-58). LU outscored Louisiana College 33-5 in points in the paint.
 
"We feed off of our defense," Harmony said. "We still have some things we have to work on, but for the most part I was very happy with the way our defense played."
 
LU also held a 60-34 rebounding edge, which resulted in a 22-65 advantage in second-chance points.
 
The 65-point margin of victory is behind only an 86-point win at Florida International in 1980 and a 75-point win over Rice in LU history.
 
The Cardinals travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., on Friday to prepare for a non-conference game at Northern Arizona at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
 
"We're going to go out a day early to get used to the time change and altitude change," Harmony said. "We're also going to do a little team bonding. But we know this is a business trip, and we want to come back with a win."
 
Sunday's game will be broadcast live on www.LamarCardinals.com. Following Sunday's game, the Cardinals are idle until Nov. 28 when they travel to Loyola Chicago before coming home to host Schreiner University at 7 p.m. Nov. 30.