FORT WORTH, Texas – The Lamar University women's basketball team makes its sixth appearance in a national postseason tournament in the last nine years when it takes on the TCU Horned Frogs in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
 
The Cardinals (22-7) received the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the WNIT after winning the conference's regular-season title with a 17-1 record. LU saw its school-record 14-game winning streak ended with a 74-68 loss to eventual champion Nicholls in the semifinals of the Soutland Conference Tournament on Saturday.
 
"It was a disappointing loss, but it wasn't the end of our season," LU coach Robin Harmony said. "We're excited to play in a prestigious national tournament. We regrouped and got ready for a good TCU squad."
 
The Horned Frogs (19-12) are members of the Big 12. TCU went 9-9 in conference play and reached the semifinals of its conference tournament before dropping a 94-48 decision to Baylor.
 
Amy Okonkwo, who has come off the bench in all 31 TCU games this season, leads the Horned Frogs in scoring at 15.5 points per game. Jordan Moore averages 12.6 ppg and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game, while Amber Ramirez averages 11.0 points per contest.
 
The Cardinals have four players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Moe Kinard at 16.0 ppg. Chastadie Barrs (12.3), DeA'ngela Marhis (12.1) and Kiandra Bowers (10.6) also average in double figures for LU. Bowers is averaging a Southland Conference-best 10.1 rebounds per game.
 
Barrs, who has at least one steal in all 90 games of her career, has 188 steals this season, three shy of the NCAA record of 191 set by Natalie White of Florida A&M in the 1994-95 season.
 
Thursday's game will air live on KLVI (AM 560) with Harold Mann providing the play-by-play.
 
The winner of Thursday's game meets the winner of Thursday's Missouri State at Louisiana Tech game in the second round. That date has not been set as of yet, but would be played from March 17-20. The championship game of the 64-team WNIT is set for March 31.