BEAUMONT, Texas - With seven members in double figures, a season-high 12 three-pointers, and 61 first half points, Lamar University made the most of its return to the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center Wednesday night with a 94-32 victory over St. Thomas (TX). This win returns LU to an even .500 with a 3-3 record.
T'Aaliyah Miner posted a career-high 13 points and had team-highs in field goals made (six) and rebounds (eight). She finished tied in scoring along with
Sabria Dean, who made five field goals, including three from downtown.
Akasha Davis had a perfect game by hitting all five field goals and two free throws to finish with 12 points.
Jacei Denley and
R'Mani Taylor, who dished out a team-high six assists, each scored 11 points while
Kamryn Wilson and
NJ Weems recorded 10 points each.
For the Cardinals, they converted 54.4 percent from the field while holding UST to 29.7 percent. LU also took command of points off turnovers (42-5) and rebounds (41-20) while dominating the paint with a 44-12 edge.
The Cardinals' hot first half started in the first quarter as they shot 61.1 percent from the field. Davis started the game by scoring six of LU's first nine points in the first two-and-a-half minutes. The Celts closed the gap to 11-6, but Wilson connected on a pair of threes to ignite a 17-4 run to close the quarter. Taylor came off the bench for five points as Big Red led 28-10 after one.
The Cardinals kept cooking up baskets in the second quarter by opening with 17 consecutive points to lead 45-10, including seven from Miner. The three-point magic continued to bode well for LU as they connected six times with Taylor, Denley (eight points), and Dean each hitting a pair. UST finally ended the run after a little over six minutes, but LU's quarter-best 63.1 percent from the field brought the score to 61-17 at the break.
Big Red continued to increase their lead up to 50 points in the third quarter. While this was the only quarter LU would not hit over 50 percent from the field, its defense held the Celts to a single field goal and three free throws. The Cardinals built their lead to 75-22 after 30 minutes of play.
Role players came off the bench to score 19 points in the final quarter with a pair of three-pointers from
KJ Walker plus four points from
Bebe Galloway. The Cardinals set a new season mark for the biggest lead at 64 points (94-30) after Miner's 13th point before the Celts made the last basket of the contest.
The Cardinals are back home this Saturday as they will host UL Monroe. The tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
