Dec. 30, 2006

Box Score

BEAUMONT - The Lamar University women's basketball won their second straight game Saturday night, knocking off the Great Danes of the University of Albany 56-43 at the Montagne Center.

The win gives Lamar back-to-back victories for the first time this season, and improves their overall record to 5-8 on the year. The Lady Cards will be back in action next Saturday, January 6, when they open Southland Conference play against the Roadrunners of UT-San Antonio at 7 p.m.

The Lady Cardinals wasted little time taking control of Saturday's contest, grabbing the lead for good with 10:35 to play in the first half on an Alexis Timpone three pointer, giving them a 15-12 lead. Lamar then went on a 14-4 run to get up by 13 points, but Albany closed the half on a 5-2 run, and Lamar held a 31-22 advantage at the break.

Dionne Pounds led the way for the Lady Cardinals balanced first half offensive attack with seven points. Brittney Williams also had a strong first half with five points and five rebounds.

The Great Danes closed to within six points in the opening minutes of the second half, but LU responded with a 10-2 run to push their lead to 14 points with 12:40 to play. The run was capped off by a LaToya Carson three pointer, and Lamar never looked back.

The combination of strong defense and solid offensive play prevented Albany from getting the deficit below double digits for the remainder of the game.

The Lady Cardinals were led by Dionne Pounds 14 points, while Carson added 12 points on four of six shooting. Brittney Williams, Shaquita Coffey and Quiana N'Joku also had solid performances on the glass for the Lady Cards, as Williams grabbed 11 rebounds while Coffey and N'Joku each grabbed seven rebounds. Vickie Toney also had a solid performance off the bench, passing out six assists.

As a team the Lady Cardinals shot 40.9 percent from the field, while holding Albany to just 24.2 percent. Lamar also won the rebounding battle, grabbing 45 boards to the Great Danes 40, and sank 16 of 23 free throws as compared to the 11-21 from the charity stripe for Albany.

The Great Danes were led by Amanda Ward and Britney McGee who had 15 and 10 points respectively, while Kristin Higy grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.