BEAUMONT, Texas – Kiandra Bowers and Chastadie Barrs each had a double-double to lead the Lamar University Cardinals to a 77-71 win over the visiting Abilene Christian Wildcats in a Southland Conference women's basketball game Wednesday evening.
 
Bowers had a season-high 30 points to go along with 16 rebounds for her 31^st career double-double. Barrs added 16 points and 10 assists as the Cardinals (14-6 overall, 9-1 Southland) ran their winning streak at the Montagne Center to 24 games. With the win, LU remained a half-game behind conference-leading Stephen F. Austin, setting up a first-place showdown with the Ladyjacks at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Montagne Center.
 
"We needed a game like this to wake up," LU coach Robin Harmony said. "It's a good lesson. It's a better lesson learned by winning. It was an emotional game. Our kids stuck in there and found a way to get the W."
 
Bowers moved into ninth place on LU's all-time scoring list with 1,139 points, passing Dominique Edwards (1,110 points) and Audrea Samuel (1,135 points).
 
It was LU's first victory by single digits this season. Abilene Christian (13-7, 7-3) stayed in the game thanks to deadly shooting from downtown. The Wildcats shot 42.9 percent (15-of-35) from 3-point range.
 
"We knew this was a team that could really hit the 3," Harmony said. "But we rebounded well and came up with some big stops when we needed to."
 
The Cardinals dominated the Wildcats on the boards. Abilene Christian, which entered the game with a conference-leading rebound margin of 6.8 per game, was outrebounded by LU 46-25. LU dominated inside, outscoring ACU 56-12 in the paint.
 
The Cardinals also had an advantage in points off turnovers, outscoring the Wildcats 22-14. ACU had 19 turnovers, as compared to 12 for LU. Barrs had five steals, giving her at least one steal in all 81 career games.
 
LU led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, but could never pull away from the Wildcats (13-7, 7-3). LU led 37-34 at halftime and 56-48 heading into the final period, but ACU cut the LU lead to 58-56 with 6:22 remaining in the fourth before back-to-back layups by DeA'ngela Mathis followed by a Bowers layup made it 64-56. The Wildcats got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
 
Mathis had 14 points for LU, Moe Kinard had eight points and Kiara Desamours came off the bench to contribute seven points and eight rebounds to the victory.
 
Breanna Wright led ACU with 27 points, as she went 8-of-14 from 3-point range. Dominique Golightly had 14 points for ACU.
 
The Cardinals can take sole possession of first place with a win over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday afternoon.
 
"We were focused on Abilene Christian, but now we are going to forget about it and turn our focus to Stephen F. Austin," Harmony said. "We control our own destiny."
 
BANNER DAY: LU will honor three former greats at halftime Saturday's game vs. Stephen F. Austin, as Carolyn Ford, Kalis Loyd and Carol Sims will have their jerseys retired during a banner-raising ceremony. All three will be on hand for the event.
 
PROMOTIONS: Fans attending Saturday's basketball doubleheader vs. SFA (men's game at 4:30 p.m.) will receive a free pair of LU socks, while supplies last, courtesy of Mobiloil Credit Union.  There will also be a student-organization challenge, with a $250 cash prize being awarded based on spirit, creativity and attendance
 
TICKETS: For tickets for LU home games, please call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE. The Montagne Center ticket office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. It reopens one hour prior to tipoff on weeknights and weekends. LU students receive free admission to home games with their Cardinal One card, while Junior Cardinal Club members are admitted for free when they present their membership badge.