BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar Lady Cardinals used a strong rebounding against McNeese State on Saturday to rebound back into the win column with a 75-67 victory over the Cowgirls in a Southland Conference women's basketball game Saturday.

Lamar (15-11 overall, 12-3 Southland) outrebounded McNeese State 53-40 on the afternoon. With the win, Lamar remained in second place, a half-game behind Stephen F. Austin, but moved 1-1/2 games ahead of third place Nicholls.

"This was a good win for us," Lamar coach Robin Harmony said. "We knew McNeese would be tough, but we had to get back on the winning track after our loss at SFA."

JaMeisha Edwards led Lamar with 22 points. Baileigh O'Dell had 14 points, while Dominique Edwards had her 12^th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds, to go along with six assists, which tied a career high. Freshman Laka Blache came off the bench to add a career-high nine points.

"I was very happy with the way Laka played tonight. It's great when a freshman can come in and contribute like that," Harmony said. "We know she has the talent to be an impact player."

Blache, whose previous career best was seven points, expressed excitement about her role in the win.

"I'm glad I could come in and do my part," Blache said. "We really needed this win."

Caroline Adesulu had seven points for Lamar, but it was her defense that made a difference. Adesulu had 11 rebounds and blocked five shots. As a team, the Lady Cardinals recorded a season-high nine blocks.

Lamar led 35-29 at halftime, but McNeese State (15-11, 9-6) kept it close in the second half. The Cowgirls cut the Lamar lead to 70-66 with 1:43 remaining, before Lamar closed things out by going 5-of-6 from the foul line down the stretch.

"We didn't shoot that well from the line (21-of-32), but we made our shots at the end," Harmony said.

Allison Baggett led McNeese State with 24 points, while Amber Donnes added 16 points.

Lamar returns to action at 7 p.m. Thursday with a return match at McNeese State.

"Thursday is another big game. We know McNeese is tough at their place," Harmony said. "We have three games left in the regular season. If we win those, we can finish no worse than second and still have a shot at first place."

Following Thursday's game at McNeese State, the Lady Cardinals host Incarnate Word at 4 p.m. Feb. 28 before closing out the regular season by entertaining Sam Houston State at 5:30 p.m. March 5.

All three remaining regular-season games and all postseason games will be carried live on KLVI (AM 560). For ticket information, call (409) 880-1715, or visit www.LamarCardinals.com.

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