Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT — Moe Kinard tied her career-high with 31 points and led the Lamar women’s basketball team to a 94-43 victory over Louisiana College on Monday night at the Montagne Center. Kinard shot 58 percent (11 for 19) in the contest.

As a team, the Cardinals shot 50 percent (34 for 68) from the floor including hitting a season-high 13 threes. Kinard hit five threes, Jadyn Pimentel and Miya Crump hit three threes’ apiece. Crump followed with 19 points and Pimentel scored 17 in the game.

“The first 15 minutes of the contest we got off to a slow start and we played to the opponent’s level,” remarked Head Coach Robin Harmony. “We had a great week of practice and we weren’t expecting that and our kids took them lightly. They had some guards who were quick, and they broke our press easy and that rattled us.”

The win for the Cards is its 30th straight victory at the Montagne Center. The winning streak is the second longest home court winning streak in the nation.

The Cards got the scoring going early as Crump hit a three. Following the made three, both teams traded buckets and after Jadyn Pimentel’s second three of the contest, Lamar led, 10-5. LU continued to grow its lead and it was stretched into double-figures after a Kinard layup. The Cardinals ended the first quarter on a 10-2 run, which lasted the last 4:49 of the quarter. After one quarter of play, LU led 22-9.

The Cardinals picked up the defense in the second quarter as they only allowed the Wildcats to score two points. Over the final 9 minutes and 45 seconds of the second quarter, the Cardinals outscored Louisiana College, 28-0. With just under four minutes left in the quarter, Barrs recorded her fourth steal of the contest, which led to a Kinard three, putting the Cards ahead, 36-11. The lead grew to 32 points, 43-11, after a fast-break layup by Crump. LU stretched its lead to 40, 51-11, at halftime. The Cardinals limited the Wildcats to five field goals in the first half as they shot 22.7 percent for the half.

“We finally settled down,” Harmony stated on the 28-0 run the Cards had in the second quarter. “We defend our nest and we try to hang our heads on defense. We locked down and played good defense and got easy transition points and hit some shots from the outside.”

LU continued to keep the pressure on the Wildcats as they stretched the lead to 58-13 after a layup by Kinard, which was her 16th point of the night. LU’s Kinard continued having the hot hand as she hit a three with 4:16 left in the quarter giving the Cards a 68-25 lead. Kinard was just heating up as she scored nine more points in the quarter. After three quarters of play, the Cardinals led 81-32.

The Cardinals stretched its lead to 52 points, 84-32, opening the fourth quarter after Angel Hastings hit a three. Later in the quarter, the Cards stretched its lead to 53, 90-37, the largest lead of the night, after a Lola Bracy layup. The Cardinals scored four more points in the contest capped by a Shedricka Pierson jumper and LU came away with a 94-43 victory on Monday night.

The Cards return to action on Thursday when they travel to Starkville, Mississippi, to face Mississippi State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Humphrey Center.