BEAUMONT, Texas –
T'Aaliyah Miner scored a career-high 17 points off the bench as Lamar University relied on a strong second half to defeat Southland Conference foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 77-49, Monday evening at the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center.
Miner went 6-of-10 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers to lead all scorers. Her previous career-high was 14, which came against New Orleans last season. LU had two other players in double figures with junior
Solenne Olenga posting 12 on 5-of-7 shooting and freshman
Shaila Forman netting 11 (3-of-5).
Big Red (4-4, 2-0 SLC) finished the game by hitting 44 percent from the field, which included a season-high nine threes. The Cardinals controlled the paint with 32 points while forcing 22 Islander turnovers to score 31 points.
LU took an early 6-2 lead to open the game. Corpus Christi's response was to connect on a pair of threes and be in front, 9-8, for the first and only time. Both teams were level at 12 when
Kamryn Wilson netted four points to spark a 7-2 run, putting the Cardinals up 19-14 after one.
Big Red built a seven-point lead on two occasions in the second quarter, but the Islanders would have the hot hand as they made 58.3 percent from the field. The Cardinals were held to four field goals, yet they did keep Corpus Christi at bay from behind the three-point line (1-of-5), which contributed to a 32-30 lead at halftime.
After recording three points in the first half, Miner suddenly caught fire in the third quarter. She made all four of her field goal attempts to score half of LU's 20 points. The Cardinals connected on 61.8 percent, which included four threes, to seize a double-digit lead, 52-41, heading into the final quarter.
For the second game in a row, the Cardinals scored 25 points in the fourth quarter. Miner added four points to set her new career-high while Forman scored five. Big Red's defense held the Islanders to eight points and forced six turnovers, including four steals, and a blocked shot by Keyiona Mitchell to cause a shot clock violation.
The Cardinals are back home Wednesday against Prairie View A&M for the final non-conference game of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the contest will be streamed on ESPN+.
