LAKE CHARLES, La. - Not having to play until the semifinals of the Southland Conference tournament can bring in some rust for any team. While there was rust for Lamar University's women's basketball team, they overcame the early struggles against No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce with a dominant second half defensive effort to win 83-58. Winners of 14 in a row, the Cardinals have tied the record for the best mark since 2018-19 and for the second straight season are heading to the conference championship game.

Akasha Davis tallied her 18th double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds while Sabria Dean also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. In the exact same round where she posted a season high last year, R'Mani Taylor posted a career-high with 21 points including in a perfect four-of-four from the three-point line. Also with a season-high was Malay McQueen, who tallied 14 points including three from downtown. 

The Cardinals managed to knock down 51.6% from the field and 46,7% from three-point range with seven threes. They outboxed the Lions on rebounds (47-23) and ran to their offense efficiently with 14 assists. Defensively, they blocked three shots and tallied seven steals.

The first quarter saw an exchange of points between the two squads. But it was AMC who held a 15-11 lead after one despite shooting 35.7% from the field. Part of the problem was LU's inability to contain Mia Deck and Ahmya Boyce, who combined for 12 points between them.

The Lions carried a four-point lead till it was 19-15 in the second quarter. That was when LU turned the tides with a 14-2 run to lead 29-22 as Dean and Taylor combined for 11 of their 16 points in the run. Up 31-24, the Cardinals' momentum slowed down as AMC returned the favor by ending the quarter on a 7-3 run, which put LU up 34-31. LU managed to knock down 64.9% from the field.

The second half started off tight until the score was 40-37. After a three by Taylor, a technical foul called on the Lions changed the game as the Cardinals outscored the Lions 17-12 to stretch their lead to 60-49. Davis and Taylor sparked the Cardinals by combining for 17 points.

In the fourth quarter, a familiar friend to the Cardinals showed up as for the 22nd time, LU held the opposition to single-digits. Holding the Lions to nine points, Big Red capitalized on some key threes and a stretch where after a Taylor three, Dean stole the ball and Malay McQueen broke away for two of her eight fourth quarter points. By the end of the night, Davis' 23 points would hand LU a 20-point margin and the Cardinals sent the conference's number one offense packing.


The Cardinals will now play in the Southland Conference championship game against either No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi or No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana. The tip-off will be tomorrow at 4:00 PM.
 

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