March 13, 2009

Box Score

KATY, Texas - The No. 4 seed Lamar University women's basketball team used a Late rally to close within three points of No. 1 seed UT Arlington Friday afternoon, but could not quite get over the hump in a 67-62 loss in the semifinals of the 2009 State Farm Southland Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.

With the loss the Lady Cardinals fall to 20-11 on the year, while the Lady Mavericks improve to 22-9 and advance to the tournament finals against UTSA on Saturday.

Trailing by 10 at 62-52 with 4:01 to play, the Lady Cards cut the Arlington lead to seven with a 7-0 run over the next 2:16. Ang Green buried a jumper and Nikki Williams made a layup to get within six points, then Trashanna Smith knocked down a layup and free throw to get LU within three at 62-59 with 1:45 to play.

Arlington answered with a jumper by Kiarra Shofner to stop Lamar's 7-0 run, but Green quickly answered with another layup to get Lamar back within three at 64-61 with one minute to play. Green's jumper was the last of the game for either team, as UTA knocked down three of four free throws in the final minute to seal the 67-62 win.

In the first half the Lady Cardinals struggled to get their offense going, missing 18 of their first 22 shots. Despite their offensive woes, Lamar was able to stay close to the Mavs due to a scrappy defensive effort.

Trailing by 13 in the final seconds of the half, Smith rejected a Kristina Grace jumper with 13 seconds to play, giving LU one last chance to cut into the lead. Green answered the call as Lamar quickly raced the ball up the court, draining a three pointer with two seconds left to send the Lady Cards into halftime trailing 36-26.

For the game Smith led Lamar with 18 points and 12 rebounds while adding a career-high six steals. Brittney Williams added 13 points while Nikki Williams and Green each tallied 12 points for the Lady Cards.

As a team the Lady Cards shot 33.8 percent from the field, knocking down 24 of their 71 shots, while UTA shot 52.5 percent from the field going 21-40. The Lady Mavs won the rebounding battle 39 to 31, but Lamar won the turnover battle, giving the ball away 12 times to Arlington's 25.