BEAUMONT, Texas - Lamar managed to take the theme of 1-0 literally as they would come out on top in their only game of the week. Behind 23 points from Akasha Davis, the Cardinals would prevail over the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros, 53-39.

On 10-of-13 shooting, Davis recorded her fourth 20+ point game while also grabbing seven rebounds, which shared the lead with Malay McQueen. Sabria Dean added 16 points and tallied eight rebounds to lead LU. In all, the Cardinals made 45.2% from the field.

For much of the first quarter, the two teams would trade baskets. Davis posted up for six points in the quarter as the Cardinals took a 10-9 lead. But the Vaqueros would end the quarter with six straight points to go ahead 15-10 after one.

The Cardinals knotted the score at 15 with NJ Weems knocking down a three. After conceding four unanswered, the Cardinals would respond with eight straight for a 23-19 lead going into the break. Davis had 10 points at the half while Weems (five points) and Dean (six points) combined for 11 points. The Cardinals shot 44.1% from the field in the quarter while holding UTRGV to a mere 9.1%.

Both teams would again exchange points as the four-point Cardinal lead stood at 27-23 with six-and-a-half minutes to go in the third. But then, Dean and Hastings knocked down a pair of threes in route to an 8-0 run and the first double-digit lead of the night. UTRGV would respond by cutting the margin to 36-30 going into the fourth quarter. The Cardinals knocked down half of their eight shots from the field.

The scored stayed within five points in LU's favor at 42-37 with five minutes to go. But the Cardinals took control with an 11-2 run to put the game out of reach. Davis tallied 10 fourth quarter points by making all of her field goals to finish with 23. Portia Adams and Kayla Mitchell each delivered decisive plays as Adams converted an and-1 while Mitchell forced a key 10-second violation. In what was deemed a must-win game, LU preserved victory at 53-39.
 
"It was a great win," said head coach Aqua Franklin. "It's great to protect home. We only lost two on our home court I believe. It's one of the things we wanted to come out and do was make sure we protected home court. You have to win those."

The Cardinals are off this weekend but will resume their season next Thursday night at 7:00 PM when California Baptist comes to the Montagne Center.
 

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