COLLEGE STATION, Texas - In their first game in nearly two weeks, Lamar University's women's basketball team couldn't dig out of the early hole they got into against the Texas A&M-Aggies, who would put up an 83-51 in front of an attendance of mostly elementary school kids. While the Cardinals battled to within six in the first half, the red-hot shooting Aggies used the second half to outscore LU 43-25 to claim the win.

Ironically, Sabria Dean led all scorers with 16 points for the day thanks to a 10-point fourth quarter while banking six of her 11 field goal attempts. Akasha Davis was the other double-digit scorer for LU as she recorded 11 from the field on 50% shooting. Aside from being outscored in most offensive categories, what would hinder LU throughout the contest was their inability to convert free throws (46.2%) and also making one three-pointer the entire game. 

The Cardinals struggled to break out of the gates early as they fell behind 11-4 despite hitting their first two shots. Davis helped spark a 6-2 run to get within 13-10 with 2:09 to go. The Aggies responded with the last five points of a quarter to lead 18-10. Big Red finished with 41.7% from the field in the first 10 minutes. 

The Cardinals outshot TAMU in the second quarter (53.3%-47.6%), but with only fewer attempts (8-of-15). For most of the quarter, the Cardinals struggled to get within a two-possession game as they only got as close as 24-18 following a Davis lay-up. But that's when the Aggies would go on a 16-8 surge to lead 40-26 at the half. 

A six-point run gave TAMU a 20-point lead and also ignited a 24-10 quarter to put them up 64-36 through three. LU struggled to get by TAMU's defense who held them to just four of the 15 field goal attempts they took. While Davis reached double-figures and Anaya Bernard connected on a three-pointer, they couldn't resolve the 53.3% shooting quarter from the Aggies. 

After watching TAMU score the first seven points, Dean would come to life scoring LU's first 10 points of the quarter. NJ Weems, Jacei Denley, and Taliah Hill each would pick up five points combined to reach 51 for the contest. One other positive for the Cardinals was that their defense did hold down the Aggies to 38.89% (7-of-18) from the field in the quarter. 

The Cardinals will look to seek a bounce-back win as they will continue their long road stretch next week with another Wednesday contest against Louisiana in the Cajundome. This time, it will be a 5:00 p.m., tipoff. 
 

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