BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar (5-5, 1-0 SLC) will host Northwestern State (3-6, 0-1 SLC) in their conference home opener on Saturday in the Montagne Center.
 
The Cardinals, led by redshirt senior Amber Vidal, will look to get above the .500 mark before heading into the Christmas break. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:02 p.m. (CT).
 
This will mark the 58^th meeting between the programs on the hardwood, with the Demons leading the series 37-20 but the Cardinals have captured the past three meetings and will look to make it four in a row.
 
The contest on Saturday marks the conference home opener for the Cardinals. Lamar has not dropped a conference home-opener since Jan. 7, 2011 when Central Arkansas defeated the Cardinals, 62-37.
 
Northwestern State comes into the game after dropping their SLC opener to Sam Houston State, 79-69. The Demons were led by junior guard Kalen Green, who finished with 13 points. NW State impressed in their conference opener by achieving their second-best shooting performance this season.
 
CONFERENCE SWING INTO WINTER BREAK

• The Cardinals will open-up conference play during the break playing two contests.
• The first contest saw Lamar defeat SE Louisiana in Hammond on Wednesday by a score of 65-57, and then the Cardinals will welcome Northwestern State to Beaumont on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
• These two games are Lamar's final contests before everyone goes separate ways for winter break.
• Players will report back to campus on Dec. 27 to begin preparations for a Jan. 2 home contest vs. New Orleans.

 
RECAPPING OUR LAST GAME

• Head Coach Aqua Franklin captured her first conference win with a 65-57 win over Southeastern Louisiana.
• Amber Vidal went on to shoot lights out during the first half to help her score 21 points in Lamar's victory over SE Louisiana to open conference play.
• Vidal added five rebounds, two steals and two assists to her performance against SLU. The San Antonio, Texas native, now has six game where she has out up double-digits.

NOTE FROM THE LAST GAME

• Cleaning the Glass: The Cardinals out-rebounded SLU, 40-36, marking the fourth time this season that the Cardinals have out-rebounded their opponents.

LAST TIME WE MET

• Seniors Chastadie Barrs and Moe Kinard totaled 55 points combined in a routing of Northwestern State, 94-70.
• In the contest, Barrs recorded 10 steals which moved her into second place in the NCAA for career steals. She also moved four assists away from setting the Lamar school record for assists in a career.
• Kinard left the game with 202 career three-pointers in her Lamar career, and only needed three three-pointers to set the LU school record.