Lamar sports information

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Kiandra Bowers and Moe Kinard each had a double-double to propel Lamar coach Robin Harmony to her 50th win at the helm of the Cardinals with a 65-51 victory over host Canisius in a non-conference women’s basketball game Saturday afternoon.

Bowers and Kinard each finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, as Kinard established a career high for rebounds in the victory. Chastadie Barrs just missed out on a triple-double, ending with nine points, 10 rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Barrs also had a steal, giving her at least one steal in all 37 games of her career.

It was the ninth career double-double, and second this season, for Bowers, while Kinard registered the first double-double of her career.

“It’s good to get that first road win,” said Harmony, who saw her team to improve to 3-3 on the season. “It’s tough to win on the road, so I am hoping this will give this young team some confidence.”

Bowers had eight points in the first quarter as the Cardinals (3-3) built a 17-7 lead. The Cardinals took the lead for good in the early going by going on a 13-0 run to go up 15-3 with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter.

Canisius (1-4) fought back in the second quarter to cut the LU lead to 22-18 with 4:49 remaining in the half, but Kinard rained a 3-pointer to kick start a 10-2 LU run to end the half as the Cardinals took a 32-20 lead into the locker room.

The Golden Griffins came out hot to start the second half, opening the third quarter on a 10-2 run over the first 2:43 of the period, prompting Harmony to call a timeout to stem the tide. Whatever Harmony said seemed to work, as LU rattled off six straight points to lead 40-30. Canisius never got any closer than eight points the rest of the way.

“They made some runs at us, but we never let them get the lead,” Harmony said. “We got the big stop or the key bucket when we needed them.”

The Cardinals grabbed a season-high 55 rebounds as they outrebounded the Golden Griffins 55-30. LU had four players in double digits on the glass, as Kiara Desamours finished with a game-high 11 rebounds to complement the 10 each from Barrs, Bowers and Kinard.

The rebounding proved crucial, as LU had 21 second-chance points, compared to just two points for Canisius.

“We got on the boards the way we are capable of,” Harmony said. “We did a good job of fighting for rebounds.”

Canisius also had trouble with LU’s pressure defense. The Golden Griffins, who averaged just 12 turnovers per game entering the contest, committed a season-high 23 turnovers Saturday as LU had a 20-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

The turnover advantage and domination on the boards allowed LU to take 32 more shots than Canisius. The Cardinals were 23 of 74 (31.1 percent) from the field, while Canisius took just 42 shots, making 16 (38.1 percent).

Sara Hinriksdottir and Maria Welch had 14 points apiece to pace the Golden Griffins, while Lauren D’Hont added 11 points.