BEAUMONT, Texas - Lamar University (15-6, 10-2 SLC) led 58-47 with 2:46 to go in a rematch of last season's Southland Conference title game with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11-12, 3-9 SLC) Thursday at the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center. While the Islanders' press defense closed the gap to four in the final minutes, the Cardinals held on for a 63-57 win to snap a two-game skid.

The Cardinals were led by their three leading scorers, who all reached double figures. Jacei Denley and Sabria Dean each poured in 15 points while Akasha Davis secured her seventh double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. R'Mani Taylor dished out a team-high five assists to go with her nine points.

Although LU shot 25 percent in the first half, its second half had two quarters of 60 percent or higher to finish with 42.9 throughout the contest. Corpus Christi managed to outrebound the Cardinals, 36-34 and dish out 14 assists to Big Red's 10. However, the Cardinals' bench proved pivotal in this matchup, scoring 23 points.

Each team traded 5-0 runs at the start of the game. After Corpus Christi retook the lead at 9-5, the Cardinals ended the first quarter on a 9-2 run to lead 14-11. While both teams shot below 35 percent from the field, LU's backcourt of Dean and Taylor each tallied five points.

Following a T'Aaliyah Miner basket to give LU its biggest lead of the first half,16-11, the Islanders answered back with an 8-3 run to knot the contest at 19. The second quarter was a defensive struggle as each side combined for seven field goals. Even with the two ties in the quarter, the Islanders would never lead for the rest of the game as a three-pointer by Dean placed the Cardinals ahead 24-21 at the half.

The third quarter turned in favor of LU as it converted 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the field. At first, the tight contest continued until Big Red was up 33-30 at the 4:36 mark. That was when Denley caught fire by scoring eight points over the final four minutes, which saw the Cardinals lead 43-34.

By the time the fourth quarter came around, Denley carried her momentum as she scored seven points in the first five minutes while a three-pointer by Taylor gave the Cardinals a 55-43 lead. Four straight Corpus Christi points were countered by a three from Dean, which made it 58-47 with 2:46 to go. As was the case in previous matchups, the Islanders showed no quit and their press defense allowed them to rally back to within 58-54 with 50 seconds to go. While it became a free throw game for the Cardinals, Corpus Christi would miss some critical free throws of its own, which allowed LU to escape with a 53-47 victory.

LU now looks to sweep this homestand on Saturday when it hosts UT Rio Grande Valley. The game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m.
 

#PeckEmCards