SAN ANTONIO – The Lamar University women's basketball team looks to tie a program record with its 10^th straight win when it takes on host Incarnate Word in a Southland Conference women's basketball game at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
 
LU (17-6 overall, 12-1 Southland) holds a half-game lead on Stephen F. Austin in the battle for first place in the conference. LU has already clinched a berth in next month's Southland Conference Tournament. UIW (3-20, 2-10) enters Wednesday's game tied for 10^th place in the 13-team conference. UIW is four games behind Nicholls for the eighth, and final, tournament berth with six games remaining.
 
An LU win would match the 10-game winning streak fashioned by last season's team, but LU coach Robin Harmony isn't focusing on the winning streak.
 
"I'm not thinking about the streak, I'm thinking about the next game," Harmony said. "Because I know in this league anybody can beat you at any time. If you don't come to play and if you don't respect them, they are going to beat you."
 
The Cardinals, who lead the Southland Conference in offense with an average of 78.5 points per game, have four players averaging in double figures in the scoring column. Moe Kinard leads the team at 16.3 points per game, followed by Chastadie Barrs at 12.6. DeA'ngela Mathis at 11.7 and Kiandra Bowers at 10.1. Jadyn Pimentel averages 7.8 ppg for LU.
 
"On our team you never know whose game it's going to be," Harmony said. "Whether it's Chastadie, or Kiandra, or DeA'ngela or Jadyn or Moe. Or even off the bench. Ashlan (Miles) came off the bench. It could be like SFA, where Baileigh (O'Dell) stepped up. We're going to find out what's working and go with that."
 
Bowers has been a dominant force on the boards, averaging 12.8 rebounds per game during the winning streak. She has a conference-best average of 11.8 boards per game in SLC play. The graduate-student post player is third all-time at LU with 867 rebounds, while her 1,174 career points are ninth on LU's all-time list.
 
"You can see that they're trying to box Kiandra off, but she is just relentless," Harmony said. "She's a big-time rebounder. When you're third all-time in rebounding and in the top 10 in scoring, you know that you're a big-time player."
 
UIW is on a nine-game losing streak, but almost pulled off an upset in its last game, dropping a 58-56 decision at Abilene Christian as the Wildcats scored in the final second of the game.
 
Sophomore guard Imani Robinson leads UIW in scoring, averaging 12.2 ppg. Robinson averages 14.3 ppg against SLC opponents.
 
"They are playing better lately," Harmony said of UIW. "They're tough to play on their home floor."
 
LU leads the overall series 7-0, including winning all three games in UIW's cozy McDermott Convocation Center. This is the second meeting of the season between the teams. LU was a 77-54 winner at the Montagne Center on Jan. 18, pulling away in the second half after holding a 37-35 lead at intermission. Kinard led LU with 23 points in that game.
 
The teams last met in San Antonio on Feb. 27, 2016, with LU rallying from a 28-27 halftime deficit for a 67-61 victory.
 
Following Wednesday's game at UIW, LU returns to the Montagne Center for their final two home games of the regular season. The Cards host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 2 p.m. Saturday before welcoming Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. Feb. 21 on Senior Night. LU wraps up the regular season with a pair of road games. LU is at Stephen F. Austin for what could be a first-place showdown on Feb. 24 before venturing to archrival McNeese on March 3.
 
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.
 
SLC TOURNAMENT TICKETS: Ticket booklets to the Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, Texas, are now on sale at the Montagne Center ticket office. The women's tournament runs from March 8-11. The men's tournament starts March 7 and ends March 10. Tickets may be purchased online by CLICKING HERE.