HOUSTON, Texas. - Playing In a city known for possessing great post players, it was ironically Dallas native Akasha Davis that had the biggest impact on the floor as her career-high of 29 points provided a much-needed lift for the Lamar University women's basketball team. Led by Davis, the Cardinals went on to a 65-54 victory over Houston Christian after a tough loss on Thursday. LU is 11-5 overall and 5-1 in Southland Conference play following the win.
Despite getting off to a slow start, Davis went 13-of-20 from the field and also grabbed 15 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the year. NJ Weems was the only other double-digit scorer for LU as she finished with 13 while making five-of-10 from the field. Jacei Denley contributed six points three assists along with Weems while Houston native R'Mani Taylor put up five points and finished with three steals along with Davis.
Although they were outshot from the field (48.8%-42.6%), the Cardinals controlled the paint (44-28) and also second chance (10-4) and fast break points (12-4). The Cardinals won the rebounding battle (32-29) and were able to score 18 points off 19 HCU turnovers.
After falling behind 2-0, the Cardinals went on an 8-2 run with Weems putting up four points before the media timeout. After Weems converted a three to finish with seven in the quarter, the Huskies racked up seven unanswered to lead 12-11. But a jumper by Denley and a steal and driving lay-up by Taylor helped LU grab a 15-14 lead after one.
Each team would exchange buckets in the second quarter until the score was 21-20 in LU's favor. That was when the Cardinals went on a 10-2 surge to end the first half up 31-22. After missing her first four shots, Davis would pick up eight of the 16 points. The Cardinals converted 46.7% from the field in the quarter while they held the Huskies to eight points on 30.8% shooting after allowing them to make 50.0% in the first.
The third quarter followed a simple game plan: give the ball to Davis. In her finest performance to date, Davis would go seven-of-eight from the field and drop 16 third quarter points to reach 25 by the end of the quarter. This included a run of 13 straight points by herself and all of this happened despite the fact HCU went six-of-seven from the field and tallied 18 points to trail 53-40. Lost in the shuffle were free throws by Taylor and fellow Houston native Teni Kuyinu as well as a jumper by Weems.
Davis tied her previous career-high to open the final quarter as LU stretched their lead to 17 on two different occasions. Then with 3:48 to go, she eclipsed her past high and finished the game with 29 points. The Huskies would only get the final tally to 65-54 despite winning the final quarter 14-12.
Next week sees LU home for two games. First up will be against New Orleans this Thursday night at 7 p.m.
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