Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT — The Lamar women’s basketball team opens the 47th season in program history with a pair of road games, starting with today’s 11 a.m. contest at perennial power Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

LU is at Utah at 8 p.m. Tuesday before hosting Louisiana College in the home opener at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Montagne Center.

The Cardinals, who have posted a school-record eight consecutive winning seasons, went 17-13 overall last season, including a 14-4 mark in Southland Conference play to finish second. Oklahoma State, a member of the Big 12, went 20-12 overall, including a 9-9 mark in conference play to finish tied for third. The Cowgirls lost to Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re going to use these games as a measuring stick. We want to see how our kids hold up under pressure,” LU coach Robin Harmony said. “You need to play the good teams in order to get better. This is all about getting ready for Southland Conference play in January.”

The Cardinals are led by senior guard JaMeisha Edwards, a preseason all-Southland Conference team selection. Edwards averaged a team-leading 16.1 points per game last season for LU. Other top returning players are junior post Kiandra Bowers, who averaged 9.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season, sophomore guard Baileigh O’Dell, who averaged 10.6 points per game while handing out a team-leading 74 assists, and senior guard Addesha Collins, who contributed 8.9 points per game in 2014-15.

Today’s game will air live online at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/lamar/.