WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Cardinals take over first place
Published 8:03 pm Saturday, February 3, 2018
The jersey numbers of former Lamar women’s basketball players Carol Sims, Carolyn Ford and Kalis Loyd hang from the Montagne Center rafters during halftime of Saturday’s Stephen F. Austin-Lamar women’s game in Beaumont on Saturday. The numbers were retired during a halftime program honoring the three and other past Lamar basketball players. (I.C. Murrell/The News)
Carol Sims, who played at Lamar from 1973-77, stands on the Montagne Center court with her family Saturday in Beaumont. Sims ranks third all-time in scoring with 1,571 career points, all of them obtained before the three-point line for college basketball was instituted. Sims led Lamar to a Texas Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women zone title in 1976 and a national AIAW tournament appearance each of her four years there. (I.C. Murrell/The News)
Carolyn Ford, who played at Lamar from 1978-82, is honored on the Montagne Center court Saturday as Lamar interim athletic director Norman Bellard greets her. Ford is the only player in Lamar women’s basketball history to amass more than 1,000 rebounds, finishing her career with 1,052 rebounds and 1,056 points. She received the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Award, given to the top senior-to-be female student-athlete at Lamar, in 1981. (I.C. Murrell/The News)
Kalis Loyd, who played at Lamar from 2009-13, is honored on the Montagne Center court as interim athletic director Norman Bellard greets her Saturday. Loyd is Lamar’s all-time leading scorer with 1,967 points and fifth all-time in rebounding with 842. She was a three-time first-team All-Southland Conference selection and won the 2012 Babe Didrikson Zaharias Award, given to the top senior-to-be female student-athlete at LU. (I.C. Murrell/The News)
Former Lamar women’s basketball players, from left, Kalis Loyd, Carol Sims and Carolyn Ford are honored on the Montagne Center court Saturday during halftime of the Stephen F. Austin-Lamar women’s game in Beaumont. Each of their jersey numbers from Lamar were retired during the ceremony. (I.C. Murrell/The News)
Lamar sports information
BEAUMONT — The Lamar Cardinals used a balanced scoring effort to move into sole possession of first place in the Southland Conference women’s basketball standings with a hard-fought 79-65 victory over the visiting Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks at the Montagne Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinals (15-6 overall, 10-1 Southland) had five players score in double figures as they moved a half-game ahead of the Ladyjacks (17-4, 9-1) in the standings. The win extended LU’s school-record home winning streak to 25 games.
The Cardinals rallied from a 35-30 halftime deficit in front of a spirited crowed that featured more than 50 LU women’s basketball alumnae on a day when three former LU greats (Carolyn Ford, Kalis Loyd and Carol Sims) became the first LU women’s basketball players to have their jerseys retired.
“We had a great crowd, and I know it fired our kids up,” LU coach Robin Harmony said. “It would have been heartbreaking not to win in front of this big crowd.”
LU pulled out the win on a day when its top two scorers, Moe Kinard and Chastadie Barrs, saw limited minutes due to foul trouble. Freshman guard Jadyn Pimentel stepped up to fill the void left by Barrs, finishing with 17 points.
“Jadyn stepped up today. She made it happen,” Harmony said. “She found her shot. She penetrated. She found Kiandra (Bowers).
“The thing that I’m most proud of is that we didn’t lose our composure. They didn’t have a chance to come back on us when we had that lead.”
Bowers continued her hot play, posting her eighth double-double of the season and 32nd of her career, as she had 14 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Bowers has four double-doubles in the last five games, averaging 15.8 points and 15.2 rebounds over that span.
“I loved that we had such a big crowd here,” Bowers said. “We always get up when we have that kind of support.”
DeA’ngela Mathis also had 17 points for LU. Baileigh O’Dell had 11 points off the bench, while Kinard added 10 points.
The Cardinals had a 43-32 rebounding edge against the Ladyjacks, who came into Saturday’s contest outrebounding their opponents by an average of 2.8 per game. Mathis contributed to LU’s total with nine rebounds, as she was one rebound shy of her second career double-double.
SFA had just eight offensive rebounds for the afternoon, as LU outscored the Ladyjacks 12-0 in second-chance points.
LU outscored SFA 49-30 in the second half, shooting 53.1 percent (17-of-32) after intermission. The Cardinals outscored the Ladyjacks 15-6 in points off turnovers over the final two quarters.
Taylor Jackson led SFA with 23 points, while Channel Hayes added 18 points.
Barrs was held scoreless, but had a game-high five assists to go along with four steals in just 19 minutes. The junior guard now has at least one steal in all 82 games of her career and boosted her Southland Conference career record to 401 steals.
The Cardinals wrap up their four-game homestand when they host Northwestern State at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Lady Demons (7-15, 2-9) dropped a 60-44 decision to visiting McNeese State on Saturday.
“I don’t think you have to worry about us being easy on the players,” Harmony said when asked about if she was worried about a letdown. “We’re going to take that intensity level and see if we can get it even higher. The more successful you are, the bigger the bull’s-eye gets, and that bull’s-eye is getting larger. We have to remind them and keep them humble.”
PROMOTIONS
Wednesday is LU’s annual Play 4 Kay game to raise awareness for breast-cancer research and awareness. Pink T-shirts will be given away while supplies last. There will be a postgame autograph session with the senior student-athletes on this season’s roster.
