CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - For the second meeting in a row, Lamar University's women's basketball team had a double-digit lead against top-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the fourth quarter. But while the Islanders threatened in the final minutes, the Cardinals were able to fend off the press and hold on for a tight 73-68 win on the road. Winners of their last four games, the Cardinals now hold an 14-10 overall record and an 8-5 Southland Conference record.

LU used four players scoring double-figures as Portia Adams netted a team-high 17 points  on five-of-nine shooting. Sabria Dean also tallied 17 points while Akasha Davis added another double-double to her career as she picked up 16 points and 10 rebounds. R'Mani Taylor finished with 11 points. The Cardinals finished the game shooting 55.6% from the field.

LU started off with a 15-5 run entering the media timeout. Dean knocked down three treys while Davis recorded six points down low. LU continued their stretch as Dean and Davis ended up combining for 19 points while the Cardinals had their best shooting quarter of the season at 88.9% (eight-of-nine). Meanwhile, their defense kept AMCC to just 26.7% as LU led 25-10 after the first 10 minutes.

The Islanders opened the second quarter on an 11-2 run that brought the deficit down to six at 27-21. As the deficit shrunk to 30-26, the Cardinals finally got another strong run going with nine of the next ten points for a 39-27. But in the final seconds, AMCC secured a four-point play to make the halftime score 39-31. LU made 41.7% from the field.

Like the first half, LU came out the gates in the second half with five straight points. The Islanders answered with eight straight to cut the deficit to five. But while LU had to overcome offensive chances from the Islanders as well as a controversial technical foul that was later overturned, they had Davis score six points while Taylor's three to close out the third gave LU a 57-48 lead.

Determined to avoid another fourth quarter collapse, the Cardinals would run their lead to 69-56 with just 2:15 to go in the game. But things got interesting as the Islanders would use their press break that frustrated LU and allowed them back to within 71-68 with only 12 seconds left to go. The final two minutes would take ages to finish as each team would call timeouts to try and seize momentum. However, the Cardinals would seize the win as Dean converted a pair of free throws icing the game for LU.

The Cardinals return to Beaumont this Thursday night at the Montagne Center as LU will look to face-off with Houston Christian in the first of two straight meetings. The tip-off begins at 5:00 p.m.
 

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