PORT ARTHUR — Lady Cardinals host Presbyterian in WBI on Wednesday



BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar Lady Cardinals open postseason play for the third time in four years when they host the Presbyterian Blue Hose in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Carl Parker Center on the campus of Lamar State College-Port Arthur.



Lamar (20-11) is seeded second in the eight-team West Region of the bracket. Presbyterian (19-11) is the No. 7 seed in the West Region. The winner of Wednesday’s game meets the winner of Thursday’s first-round contest between No. 3 Utah State and No. 6 South Dakota. That game will be played Saturday or Sunday. A Lamar win on Wednesday would allow the Lady Cardinals to host the second-round game.



Wednesday’s contest will be the first postseason game the Lady Cardinals have hosted since a 93-73 win over LSU in the second round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament.



Lamar’s Kalis Loyd will set the school record for games played in a career when she steps on the court Wednesday. Lamar’s all-time leading scorer with 1,965 points, Loyd will be playing her 127th game, breaking the record of 126 set by Trashanna Smith. Loyd leads Lamar in scoring at 17.8 points per game and in rebounding at 7.2 per game this season.



Presbyterian, which finished third in the Big South Conference, is led by Mariah Pietrowski, who averages 11.5 points per game. Karlee Taylor, who averages 11.2 points per game, is a dangerous 3-point shooter, connecting on 48.5 percent (83-of-171) of her shots from beyond the arc.



The Blue Hose opened their season with a 49-46 win at Clemson and own a 51-49 road win at Big South champion Liberty.



“They shoot the ball really well,” Lamar coach Larry Tidwell said of Presbyterian, which is third in the nation in 3-point shooting (38.7 percent) and 30th in field-goal percentage (43.2 percent). “We are going to have to defend the perimeter.”



Tickets for Wednesday’s game are $10 for adults and $5 for Lamar students and Lamar-Port Arthur students. Wednesday’s game will air live on KLVI (AM 560) and be simulcast on www.LamarCardinals.com.



“We’re excited to be back in the postseason,” Tidwell said. “We’d love to see a great crowd there to support us.”