BEAUMONT, Texas – Classes may be over for the semester, but that doesn't mean the Lamar University women's basketball team has stopped learning lessons. The Cardinals learned some valuable things in Thursday's 82-66 non-conference win over visiting Texas A&M-Kingsville at the Montagne Center.
 
"We learned we can't take any team for granted. We learned we have to play hard for all 40 minutes," LU coach Robin Harmony said. "The good thing is I'd rather learn from a win than from a loss."
 
The Cardinals (3-6) never trailed in the game, but saw a 19-point halftime lead whittled down to just three points late in the third quarter before pulling away in the final period.
 
"I think we came out a little complacent in the second half. We acted like it was going to be an easy win," said LU forward Laka Blache, who registered her first career double-double with a career-high 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds. "We know we have to keep playing hard."
 
The Cardinals rolled to a 24-8 lead after one quarter and took a 46-27 lead into intermission, punctuating the first half on a 3-point buzzer beater by JaMeisha Edwards to end the second quarter. LU was unable to carry that momentum into the second half, as the Javelinas (5-6) opened the third quarter on a 16-3 run to make a game of it.
 
"We've struggled in the third quarter all season," Harmony said. "Maybe we have to get a better warmup coming out of the locker room, but we have to do something. We have to be better in the third quarter."
 
Edwards led all scorers with a season-high 31 points as she reached double digits for the seventh straight game. She has scored at least 20 points in four of the last five games.
 
"It's nice to have a senior leader like JaMeisha, who will put the team on her shoulders," Harmony said. "We're starting three freshmen and a sophomore (Blache) who is like a freshman because she didn't play much last year. We count on JaMeisha to be our leader."
 
Addesha Collins added 10 points off the bench for LU. Freshman guard Chastadie Barrs, who entered the game second in the nation in steals, matched her career high with six thefts on Thursday as the Cardinals forced Texas A&M-Kingsville into 28 turnovers. LU outscored the Javelinas 26-11 in points off of turnovers.
 
Kaylin Roher led the Javelinas with 21 points. TaSheena Moore had 12 points, while Jamesha Wade added 11 points. The Javelinas shot 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from 3-point range against a Cardinals squad that entered the game ranked 10^th in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage defense at 22.5 percent.
 
"They hit some shots and they got some confidence," Harmony said of the Javelinas. "We missed some rotations and they got some good looks and made their shots. They had nothing to lose and played with confidence."
 
The Cardinals return to action at 2 p.m. Sunday when they travel to Columbia, Mo., to meet the 10-0 Missouri Tigers. That game will be shown live on the SEC+ Network. Following Sunday's game, the Cardinals are idle until 7 p.m. Dec. 30 when they host Howard Payne in the final non-conference game of the season.