Dec. 29, 2008

Box Score

AMES, Iowa - The Lamar University women's basketball team could not hold off a dominant second half performance by the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, falling 72-58 in their first game of the Cyclone Challenge at Hilton Coliseum on the campus of Iowa State University.

With the loss, Lamar falls to 7-3 on the year and snaps their two-game winning streak, while North Dakota improves to 6-7 on the year with the win.

Lamar led 35-30 at the half and quickly extended their lead to 10 points at 40-30 with a 5-0 run in the first 1:47 of the second half. The lead would not last long though, as North Dakota answered with a 15-0 run to take a five point lead, a lead they would never give up.

After falling behind by five at 45-40 with 12:47 to play, the Lady Cardinals could not find a rhythm offensively, while North Dakota started clicking on all cylinders. The Fighting Sioux extended their lead to 15 points at 70-55, their largest lead of the game with 2:37 to play, and finished the game with the 14 point win.

In the first half the Lady Cardinals opened up a 12-point first half lead behind a solid offensive effort, coupled with a strong defensive performance that kept the Fighting Sioux at bay. Lamar shot 45.2 percent from the field, knocking down 14 of their 31 shots, while North Dakota made 12 of 33 for a 36.4 percentage.

For the game the Lady Cards shot 44.2 percent from the field, making 23 of their 52 shot attempts, while North Dakota finished 26-66 from the field for a 39.4 shooting percentage. The Fighting Sioux won the rebounding battle 43 to 31 and the turnover battle as LU gave it away 26 times, 17 in the second half, while ND had just 17.

Darika Hill led the Lady Cardinals offensively with 15 points while Emily Spickler added nine points on 3-5 shooting from behind the three point arc.

The Lady Cardinals will be back in action Tuesday at 5 p.m. when the face the loser of the Iowa State Niagara Game which tipped off 30 minutes after the Lamar-North Dakota game.