Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT — Lamar freshman Kiara Desamours registered her first career double-double, but it wasn’t enough for the Cardinals in a 57-55 loss to visiting Canisius in a non-conference women’s basketball game Monday night.

Desamours had 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Cardinals (2-6), who saw their seven-game home-court winning streak that dated back to last season come to an end. Freshman Khali Pippins-Tryon had a career-high 13 points for LU, while freshman teammate Chastadie Barrs snatched a career-high 11 rebounds.

“We have three freshmen who are really stepping up,” LU coach Robin Harmony said. “You can see the improvement every game. We need other people to step up as well. We outrebounded them 42-40. It’s been a while since we’ve had a rebounding edge. That’s a good sign.”

LU senior JaMeisha Edwards had a game-high 20 points for the Cardinals. It was the sixth straight double-digit game for Edwards, and the third time in the last four games she has netted at least 20 points.

“We need JaMeisha to score at least 20 points for us to have a chance,” Harmony said. “She’s doing that for us, but we need some of our other veteran players to contribute as well.”

The Cardinals trailed 17-11 after one quarter before a strong second period allowed LU to take a 31-29 lead into halftime. Canisius led 48-40 after three quarters before LU clawed its way back into the game at the end. The Cardinals had a chance to win it after grabbing a rebound and calling a timeout with 2.5 seconds remaining, but Edwards’ three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark, allowing the Golden Griffins (6-2) to escape with their sixth straight win.

“We were a bit unlucky at times,” Harmony said. “We had some shots fall out and some things not go our way, but I like the passion we are playing with right now.”

Desamours’ double-double was the first by a Cardinals this season.

“I am playing with more confidence,” Desamours said. “I see us getting better as a team. It’s only a matter of time before the wins come.”

Harmony sees some good coming out of the Cardinals’ tough non-conference schedule.

“We played these tough games to get us ready for the Southland Conference schedule,” she said. “These games get us ready for the toughest teams in our conference. We know we will be ready for them.”

Jasmine Mungo came off the bench to lead the Golden Griffins with 19 points and eight rebounds. Canisius outscored LU 26-3 in bench points.

“That shows we need more people to contribute,” Harmony said. “You need your bench to contribute. You’re not going to win with just three bench points.”

The Cardinals host Texas A&M-Kingsville at 7 p.m. Thursday before hitting the road to take on the Missouri Tigers at 2 p.m. Sunday.

“We’ll take the next two days to prepare for our next game,” Harmony said. “We’ll be ready.”

Fans attending Thursday’s game are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys For Tots campaign. Those bring a new toy will receive a voucher for a free ticket for a future LU home game.