CONWAY, Ark. – The Lamar University women's basketball team looks for its third straight Southland Conference win when it opens a two-game road trip by taking on Central Arkansas at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
 
The Cardinals (6-8 overall, 2-1 Southland) are seeking their first road win of the season. LU is 6-1 at home, but 0-7 away from the Montagne Center.
 
"We have done a good job defending our nest," LU coach Robin Harmony said of the Cardinals' success at home. "We have to find a way to carry over that success on the road."
 
LU enters the week in a three-way for fourth place, one game behind conference-leading Abilene Christian, which is 3-0 in the conference, and a half-game behind Northwestern State and Sam Houston State, who are tied for second with 3-1 marks in the SLC.
 
It won't be easy against the Sugar Bears (12-2, 2-1), who rank second in the nation in defense, allowing just 47.4 points per game. Offensively, Central Arkansas is led by junior guard Maggie Proffitt, who averages 13.4 points per game.
 
LU senior guard Addesha Collins is averaging a conference-leading 23.3 points per game in Southland games. Collins, who is second on LU in scoring at 14.1 points per game overall, has scored in double digits in six straight games and seven of the last eight.
 
Senior guard JaMeisha Edwards, who became the 13^th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, leads the Cardinals in scoring with an average of 16.0 points per game. Edwards is 12^th in the nation in 3-point field goals, averaging 3.07 per game.
 
"We're going to rely on our seniors heavily the rest of the season," Harmony said. "We're going to need their leadership on and off the court."
 
The Cardinals have been getting production from their underclassmen as well, particularly freshman forward Kiara Desamours and freshman guard Chastadie Barrs. Desamours, who had a career-high 21 points in Monday's victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, averaged 14.5 points and 11 rebounds in LU's two wins last week. Meanwhile, freshman guard Chastadie Barrs is second in the nation in steals, averaging 4.21 thefts per game.
 
LU leads the overall series 9-6. Last season, LU was an 82-46 winner over the Sugar Bears at the Montagne Center last season behind 24 points from JaMeisha Edwards
 
The Cardinals will stay on the road following Monday's game, heading to Hammond, La., to take on Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. Thursday before coming home to host Northwestern State at 2 p.m. Saturday. You can listen to both of this week's road games by CLICKING HERE.