BEAUMONT, Texas - Facing off with the Southland Conference's top defensive in a rematch of last season's conference championship game, Lamar University's women's basketball team went from a 26-17 deficit in the second quarter to outscoring the undefeated Southeastern Louisiana Lions 42-19 for the remainder of the game. The final score of 59-45 in LU's favor not only has them at 13-5 overall, but it also has caused a three-way tie on top of the standings as LU, SLU, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi are tied with a 7-1 conference record.
Despite a shaky start,
Akasha Davis came around to record her 10th overall and sixth straight double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds in the win. She also was a factor defensively with three steals.
Sabria Dean added 11 points while
Brooklyn Mitchell set a new career-high with her first career double-digit game of 10 points in a Cardinal uniform.
In a defensive battle that saw both teams shoot under 35%, LU barely won the field goal percentage battle (34.4%-33.3%). However, it was their free throw shooting that made the difference as they went 13-of-14 (92.9%) from the line while SLU ended up shooting 69.2%. Big Red also crashed the boards with a 49-29 edge in rebounds and dominated the paint 28-18.
While LU connected on a three by Denley to grab the early 3-2 lead, they watched as the Lions racked up eight straight points to go ahead 11-3. The Cardinals would only make four first quarter field goals including three from downtown as Mitchell and Dean also connected on threes. In the closing seconds, Dean stole the ball and fed
R'Mani Taylor for a lay-up to close the gap at 16-11. The Cardinals were held to 23.5% from the field in the quarter.
Big Red cut the deficit to 17-15 early in the second quarter after an outlet pass from Dean to Taylor. But again, the Lions built another run as they would score six unanswered points to lead 23-15. Trailing 26-17, LU would close the gap as Davis tallied her first lay-up while Mitchell knocked down a trey as they trailed 26-22 at the half. While LU only made 29.4% in the quarter, they held SLU to 26.7%.
But the momentum for LU carried into the third quarter as they outscored the Lions 16-4 to lead 38-30. Down 28-24, the Cardinals racked up 14 straight points. Dean and Davis would combine for 10 of those points while Taylor and
NJ Weems each tallied a jumper. With the score now at 38-28, the Cardinals had completed a stunning 21-2 run since they trailed by nine in the second quarter. LU's defense held the Lions to one field goal and a pair of free throws.
The Lions would drop the first bucket of the fourth quarter to close within six. But that was as close as they would come as LU finished outscoring the Lions 47-19 in the second half. Davis reminded SLU why she was the reigning conference player of the week with 10 points while Mitchell and Weems added four points apiece. Big Red's lead grew to 55-38 before the Lions finished the game with seven of the final 11 points.
Now part of a three-team race at the top, the Cardinals will look to grab first by themselves as they will travel to Corpus Christi to take on the Islanders next Saturday. The tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
