CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Lamar University gritted out a tough 58-52 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday at Hilliard Center to snap a two-game skid. This win was the 115th for head coach
Aqua Franklin, who is now tied with Robin Harmony for second all-time in program history.
Kamryn Wilson led the Cardinals with 12 points while
Molly Powell came off the bench to score 10.
Solenne Olenga was two points shy of a double-double (eight points, 11 rebounds).
T'Aaliyah Miner (nine points) and
Shaila Forman (eight points) each stole the ball three times.
LU (15-9, 12-5 SLC) shot 34.5 percent from the field. The Cardinals outrebounded Corpus Christi, 42-34, forced 19 turnovers, including 12 steals and had their bench score 25 points.
The Cardinals once again got off to a slow start as Corpus Christi jumped out to a 12-4 lead before the media timeout. LU was 1-of-10 from the floor but would hit five of its last eight shots to spark a 13-6 run that closed out the quarter. All but two of the 10 Cardinals that appeared on the court scored as LU trailed 18-17 following an
R'Mani Taylor buzzer-beater.
Both sides made three field goals and were held to single digits in the second quarter. The Cardinals got a lift from Powell, who netted four of her six first-half points to pull LU within two at halftime.
The Cardinals secured their first lead of the game in the third quarter with six straight points, including a steal and score from Miner and Denley. While the Islanders responded with five consecutive points to get the lead back, the Cardinals took a seven-point lead with a minute to go thanks to seven points from Wilson. The Islanders closed to within three by the end of the quarter.
Corpus Christi took the lead for the last time to open the final quarter, but Forman gave the Cardinals the lead for good with three unanswered. LU relied on its free-throw shooting as it made 9-of-14 from the line before Denley's late lay-up put the Cardinals ahead by three possessions.
The Cardinals will return home Thursday to take on Nicholls. The ball will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and be streamed on ESPN+.
