BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University women's basketball team opens Southland Conference play when it travels to Thibodaux, La., to take on the Nicholls Colonels at 1 p.m. Saturday in a basketball doubleheader. The LU men face Nicholls at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the nightcap. Both games will air live on KLVI (AM 560).
 
The Cardinals (4-7), who were picked to win the conference in preseason polls of both the SLC's coaches and sports information directors, have won two of their last three games, and come in off an 88-50 victory over visiting Howard Payne University on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Nicholls (2-8) enters Saturday's contest on a five-game losing streak.
 
"We look at it as if we are 0-0," LU coach Robin Harmony said of opening the conference season. "Every game is an important one."
 
Saturday's game features two teams that are among the nation's leaders in steals. The Cardinals are 14^th nationally in steals per game at 11.9 per contest, while Nicholls is ninth at 12.6. LU is 21^st in turnovers forced at 21.36 per game, while Nicholls is 10^th at 22.60. However, LU is 34^th nationally in turnover margin at plus-4.36, while Nicholls, which averages 24 turnovers per game, is 243^rd in turnover margin at minus-1.40.
 
LU freshman guard Chastadie Barrs, who had a career-high seven steals against Howard Payne, is second in the nation in steals with an average of 4.29 thefts per game. Barrs, who averages 10.6 points per game, is third on LU in scoring behind senior guards JaMeisha Edwards (16.2) and Addesha Collins (11.5). Edwards enters the game with 968 points as she moves closer to become the 13^th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
 
Barrs leads LU in rebounding at 6.4 boards per contest, just ahead of sophomore forward Laka Blache (6.3) and freshman forward Kiara Desamours (6.1). Blache and Desamours each earned their second career double-double against Howard Payne, marking the first time in more than a year that the Cardinals had two players collect double-doubles in the same game.
 
Hope Pawlowski leads the Colonels in scoring with an average of 11.5 points per game.
 
LU leads the overall series 22-13. The Cardinals have won the last two meetings, both on its home court. The Cardinals are looking for their first win at Nicholls since a 70-56 victory on Feb. 12, 2011.
 
Following Saturday's game, the Cardinals return home for a pair of conference games. LU hosts New Orleans at 5 p.m. Monday in the first game of a hoops doubleheader that sees the LU men taking on New Orleans at 7:#0 p.m. The Cardinals host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. Jan. 7.
 
For ticket information for LU home games, call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE.