BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University Cardinals look to defend their Montagne Center nest once again when they host the Northwestern State Lady Demons in a Southland Conference women's basketball game at 2 p.m. Saturday.
 
LU (6-10 overall, 2-3 Southland) is 6-1 on its home floor this season, outscoring their opponents by an average of 24 points per game. LU is 2-0 in home conference games this season, defeating New Orleans 79-52 and rallying for a 75-70 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
"We've done a good job at home," LU coach Robin Harmony said. "We're looking forward to playing in front of our fans, who always give us tremendous support."
 
The Cardinals have been getting a boost from the play of senior guard, Addesha Collins, who has scored in double figures in eight straight games and nine of the last 10. Collins, who had 24 points in Thursday's loss at Southeastern Louisiana, is averaging 21.6 points in conference games, the best mark in the SLC. For the season, Collins is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per outing.
 
Senior guard JaMeisha Edwards, who leads LU in scoring with an average of 15.2 points per game, will be honored in pregame ceremonies. Edwards became the 13^th player in program history to score 1,000 points. Edwards reached the milestone in the Jan. 7 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, stands 12^th on LU's all-time scoring list with 1,018 points.
 
Northwestern State (10-6, 4-1) enters Saturday's game tied with Central Arkansas for second place in the conference, a half-game behind league-leading Abilene Christian. The Lady Demons have won two in a row and seven of their last eight games. Senior guard Janelle Perez leads the Lady Demons in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game.
 
Northwestern state leads the overall series 36-17. The teams split a pair of meetings last season. The Cardinals used a Southland Conference record 18 3-pointers to defeat the host Lady Demons 82-72 on Jan. 17, 2015. Northwestern State responded with a 70-64 overtime win over LU in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament on March 14, 2015 in Katy, Texas.
 
Saturday's game is the opener of a hoops doubleheader at the Montagne Center. The men's game between LU and Northwestern State is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start. Fans attending Saturday's doubleheader will receive a free LU basketball jersey towel while supplies last.
 
Both games will be shown on ESPN and will air live on KLVI (AM 560). For ticket information CLICK HERE.