Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT – The Lamar Cardinals, who have already clinched a berth in next month’s Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, can earn a first-round bye in the tournament with a win over the visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Montagne Center.

The Cardinals (18-6 overall, 13-1 Southland) have a pair of streaks on the line. LU has won 10 in a row, tying the program record. The Cardinals also bring a 26-game home winning streak into the weekend, the second-longest active home win streak in the nation, behind only UConn’s 76-game winning streak at home.

LU enters the weekend a half-game ahead of Stephen F. Austin for first place in the conference. LU is at Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 24 for what could be a showdown for first place.

“We don’t think about the streaks, or looking ahead,” LU coach Robin Harmony said. “We’re just focused on the next game.”

The Islanders (15-9, 8-5) had their five-game winning streak snapped with a one-point loss at Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is in fifth place in the conference, one game behind Abilene Christian for fourth place. The top four teams receive first-round byes in the conference tournament, with the first- and second-place teams earning byes into the conference semifinals.

The Cardinals continue to lead the nation in several defensive categories. LU is No. 1 in steals (409), steals per game (17.0), turnovers forced (27.71 per game) and turnover margin (plus 13.17 per game). In addition, LU junior guard Chastadie Barrs leads the nation with a Southland Conference record 153 steals and an average of 6.38 steals per game. Barrs has at least one steal in all 85 games of her career. Her 418 career steals are also a conference record.

“We create offense off our defense,” Harmony said. “Defense is something we hang our hat on.”

The Cardinals have been especially strong on defense as of late, holding their last three opponents to less than 50 points, while creating an average of 29 turnovers per game.

The Islanders have first-hand knowledge about LU’s defense. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was limited to just 31 points, the lowest by an LU opponent this season, in a 70-31 LU victory at Corpus Christi on Dec. 30.

Moe Kinard leads LU in scoring, averaging 16 points per game and 16.5 ppg in conference contests. Barrs (12.3), DeA’ngela Mathis (12.0) and Kiandra Bowers (10.3) also average in double figures for the Cardinals, who lead the SLC with an average of 78.2 points per game.

“We have different people stepping up each night,” Harmony said. “It’s not just our starters, but our bench.”

Bowers leads LU in rebounding, averaging 9.5 per game. Her average of 11.2 rebounds per game in conference contests tops the SLC.

The Islanders are led by Brittany Mbamalu, who averages 12.3 ppg overall and in conference play. Emma Young averages 10.7 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game for the Islanders, who outrebound their opponents by an average of 5.3 boards per game to lead the SLC.

Saturday’s game is the opener of a hoops doubleheader at the Montagne Center. The men’s game between LU and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Cardinals close out the home portion of their regular-season schedule when they host Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Senior Night. LU wraps up the regular season with a pair of road games. The Cardinals are at Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 24 and McNeese on March 3. The Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament runs from March 8-11 in Katy.

PROMOTIONS

Saturday is Youth Basketball Day, with all youth basketball players receiving free admission when they wear their team jersey to the game. Young players from Teams of Tomorrow will put on a halftime exhibition. The Cardinals will wear special home uniforms with pink trim as part of the Play4Kay initiative to raise awareness for research, detection, prevention and cures for women’s cancers.

SLC TOURNAMENT TICKETS

Ticket booklets to the Southland Conference Tournament in Katy are now on sale at the Montagne Center ticket office. The women’s tournament runs from March 8-11. The men’s tournament starts March 7 and ends March 10. Tickets may be purchased online at www.LamarCardinals.com.