BEAUMONT, Texas - Sabria Dean set season-highs in points (24) and three-point field goals made (six) as Lamar University rained down 12 threes to defeat New Orleans 94-52 Thursday night at the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center. The Cardinals (9-4) are on a four-game winning streak and are 4-0 in Southland Conference play.

Sabria Dean went 9-of-11 from the field, including hitting her first six shots while also stealing the ball twice. She was one of five Cardinals in double-figures as Jacei Denley recorded 16 points, five steals, and was one assist shy of a double-double, while Akasha Davis tallied 12 points. Coming off the bench, R'Mani Taylor finished with 13 points while T'Aaliyah Miner set a new career-high with 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field.

Big Red converted a season-high 58.1 percent of their shots on a night where they shot better than 60 percent in three of the four quarters. Defensively, the Cardinals forced 23 UNO turnovers and turned them into 35 points while scoring 40 in the paint and 24 on the fast break. Twice during the game, the Cardinals held UNO to single digits (for a quarter) and are now 7-1 for the season when doing so.

Right from the opening tip, the Cardinals were in for a good night as they started with 10 straight points before the Privateers got on the board. LU's starting five combined for 19 of the 22 points the team would score with Dean leading with six. UNO, which only got to within seven, 15-8, was held to four field goals throughout the quarter as the Cardinals finished with seven unanswered to lead 22-8 after one.

Big Red would erupt for six threes in the second quarter,  including five straight between Taylor and Dean at the start. Dean's 12 points all came from threes, and she finished the first half with 18. Once again, the Cardinals made 64.3 percent while UNO again made four field goals as Lamar's lead grew to 48-22 at the break.

Dean added two more threes in the third quarter to have her 24 points. Then, it was Denley's turn to take over as she would record nine points in the quarter to finish with 16. While the Privateers outshot LU by making all but three of their 11 shot attempts, they couldn't outscore LU, which racked up 28 total points to take a 76-43 lead heading to the final quarter.

Miner, who had six points after three quarters, led the Cardinals in the fourth quarter scoring eight of LU's first 10 points, which stretched the lead to 40. Taylor reached double figures with 3:22 to go, which also was the 90th point for Big Red in the game. Much like the first two quarters, LU allowed four New Orleans field goals and held the Privateers to single digits to preserve the victory.

Big Red will conclude its five-game homestead with a big test against Stephen F. Austin Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m and will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and streamed live on ESPN+.
 

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