Feb. 5, 2005

Box Score

BEAUMONT - A career-high 27 points from sophomore LaToya Carson was not enough to lift the Lamar Lady Cardinals past Texas-San Antonio on Saturday afternoon, as the Roadrunners won a 69-59 Southland Conference decision in women's basketball action at the Montagne Center.

It was Lamar's third straight SLC defeat, dropping the Lady Cards to 8-12 overall and 2-7 in league play. UTSA upped its season record to 11-8 on the year with a 5-3 SLC record.

Carson, a 5-9 guard from Long Beach, Mississippi, scored 21 of her game-high 27 points in the second half, including 18 in the final 10 minutes of the game. She played a large part in a late second-half run which pulled Lamar within striking distance of the Roadrunners after trailing by as many as 17.

With 3:59 left in the game, a hook shot by UTSA's Holly Ziegler put the Roadrunners up 57-40. The Lady Cardinals responded with a 9-0 run, fueled by five points from Carson, to pull within eight (49-57) with 1:27 left to play.

UTSA quickly subbed in its original starters to help slow the LU surge. Lamar was unable to pull any closer than eight for the remainder of the game. The Roadrunners made 12-of-14 free throws in the final 1:18 to hold off the Lady Cards and escape with the 10-point win. The Roadrunners made 25-of-31 (80.6%) free throws for the game, including 20-of-26 (76.9%) in the second half.

The first half saw UTSA jump out to a 12-2 lead in the first 4:53 of the game. The Roadrunners pushed their advantage to double digits with 2:13 left in the frame, before entering the locker room with a 14-point edge, 34-20. Lamar struggled to find an offensive rhythm for much of the opening period, connecting on only 10-of-32 shots from the floor.

The Lady Cards were held without a free throw attempt in the first half and they finished the game without a made three-pointer for the first time since the season opener versus Wiley College on November 22, 2004.

Carson finished the game 9-of-18 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. She also grabbed five rebounds and recorded a career-high five steals.

Junior Audrea Samuel scored nine points and blocked two shots off the bench for LU, while freshman Chelsea Gugliotta pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and added five points. Three other players chipped in with four points each.

UTSA was led by Lacy Mingee with 20 points and 11 rebounds. She made 7-of-11 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws. Mingee recorded 15 points and nine rebounds in the first half alone. Richelle Parks dropped in 16 points and Kim Reed added 10 for the Roadrunners.

After shooting 45.2% (14-of-31) in the first half, UTSA cooled to 31.8% (7-of-22) in the second period before finishing with a 39.6% clip. The Lady Cards started the game cool (31.3%), but were only able to improve to 37.5% (12-of-32) in the second half. LU finished with a 34.4 field goal percentage for the game.

The Lady Cardinals also finished the game with a season-best 83.3 free throw percentage, sinking 15-of-18 on the afternoon.

LU returns to action next week with a pair of road games at Sam Houston in Huntsville on Thursday (5:15 p.m.) and at Texas-Arlington in Arlington on Saturday (1:30 p.m.).