BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University Cardinals passed their last test before final exams with flying colors on Sunday as they rolled to an 87-41 victory over the Southwestern University Pirates in a non-conference women's basketball game at the Montagne Center.
 
The Cardinals (4-3) drained 15 3-pointers, matching the third-highest single-game total in program history, while forcing 29 turnovers as they ran their winning streak to three games. LU shot 50 percent (15-of-30) from beyond the arc, as the Pirates (1-6) could not stop the long-range attack.
 
"I'll take 15 3-pointers any day," LU coach Robin Harmony said. "We were getting good looks and taking advantage of it."
 
Baileigh O'Dell, who came off the bench had a career-high seven 3-pointers, matching the fourth-best single-game total in LU history, to lead the Cardinals with 21 points. O'Dell was 7-of-13 from downtown.  She hit her first three treys, including one that bounced high off the rim before dropping in, and another that banked in off the backboard.
 
"Maybe that's when I knew it was my day," O'Dell said of her carom shot. "It was an ugly shot, but it went in. Sometimes the bounces go your way."
 
DeJa Roberts also came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points while equaling her career best with five rebounds. Roberts was 5-of-6 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
 
Many of those buckets were set up by guard Chastadie Barrs, who had a season-high 10 assists to go along with eight steals. As a team, the Cardinals had a season-high 19 steals, while Southwestern's 29 turnovers were the most by an LU opponent this season. LU outscored Southwestern 34-14 in points off turnovers.
 
"We take pride in our defense," Barrs said. "Our badger defense forces opponents into mistakes."
 
Barrs' eight steals give her 153 for her career, putting her into a tie with Viboonluk Kributr for eighth place on LU's all-time list. The sophomore has at least one steal in all 38 of her games in an LU uniform.
 
The Cardinals got off to a slow start, being held scoreless for the first 2:42 before a Kiandra Bowers layup tied the game at 2. That started a 14-point run by LU over the next 1:42 to take a 14-2 lead. The visiting Pirates never challenged after that. LU led 28-10 after the first quarter and 40-20 at intermission. Any hopes of a Pirate comeback were dashed early in the third quarter as the Cardinals opened the second half with an 18-4 run over the first 2:49 of the period.
 
That allowed Harmony to give the reserves plenty of playing time, as LU's bench outscored the Southwestern bench 50-8.
 
"It shows that we have a quality bench," Harmony said. "It was definitely good for them to see this much playing time and contribute."
 
Bowers had a game-high 12 rebounds for the Cardinals, who outrebounded the Pirated 43-41. The senior post player also blocked three shots. Moe Kinard and Ashlan Miles had nine points apiece for LU, while Kiara Desamours finished with eight points and Bowers added seven points.
 
Southwestern struggled from the field, shooting just 30.8 percent (16-of-52). And while the Cardinals were firing away from long range, the Pirates were just 0-of-4 from 3-point range. Catherine Staskawicz led Southern with 12 points and seven rebounds. Tori Carraway finished with 11 points for Southwestern.
 
The Cardinals are idle until 7 p.m. Dec. 20, when they host Loyola Chicago at the Montagne Center. The long break between games is due to final exams.
 
"We're here for academics first," Harmony said. "Well take a couple of days off here and there, but we're still going to practice. But I think playing a game when they're not fully focused would be tough. But we will be ready on Dec. 20."
 
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