BEAUMONT, Texas – Addesha Collins registered her first career double-double as the Lamar University Cardinals handed Abilene Christian its first Southland Conference loss of the season, 63-54, at the Montagne Center on Thursday night.
 
Collins had 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds as LU (9-13 overall, 5-6 Southland) bounced back from a 90-62 loss at Abilene Christian five days earlier. Baileigh O'Dell added 17 points for the Cardinals, while Khali Pippins-Tryon came off the bench to score 10 points as LU ended Abilene Christian's 14-game winning streak.
 
"We got a chance to shock the conference tonight," LU coach Robin Harmony said. "This was our best team defensive effort of the season."
 
Abilene Christian (18-3, 9-1), which shot 52.5 percent against LU in Saturday's win, shot just 26.2 percent (16-of-61) on Thursday. The Wildcats chucked up 36 3-point attempts Thursday, making just six of them (16.7 percent) after going 15-of-33 (45.5 percent) on Saturday.
 
"We never let them get comfortable," Harmony said of the Wildcats. "If they get comfortable, they're a good-shooting team. We didn't give them too many open looks. That was a big difference for us."
 
The Cardinals also forced the Wildcats into 25 turnovers. Chastadie Barrs, who entered the game third in the nation in steals, had a career-high eight thefts Thursday. Collins had a career-high five steals as LUJ had 21 steals on the night. Barrs also pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds.
 
The Cardinals never trailed in this one. The teams were deadlocked at 22 after one quarter, but LU held a 36-29 edge at halftime as Collins had 18 points over the first 20 minutes.
 
"It all started in practice," Collins said. "We were upset after Saturday. We weren't going to let that happen again."
 
Alexis Mason led ACU with 30 points, while Sydney Shelstead added 11 points.
 
The Cardinals led by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter. ACU cut the LU margin to 59-53 in the final minute, but O'Dell and Laka Blache each made two free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
The Cardinals return to action at 2 p.m. Saturday when they host Incarnate Word (6-14, 3-6). That's the first game of a basketball doubleheader at the Montagne Center, with the men's game tipping off at 4:#0 p.m.
 
"This win means nothing if we drop the ball on Saturday," Harmony said. "This is a good win, but if we lose on Saturday, we're right back in the same situation."
 
Saturday's game will be shown on ESPN3. Saturday is Scout Day and Youth Basketball day, with all scouts in uniform receiving free admission and the opportunity to win a scout badge. All youth basketball players also receive free admission if they wear their team jersey to the game. There will also be a meet and greet with the LU softball team.
 
For ticket information, call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE.