HAMMOND, La. – The Lamar University women’s basketball team hopes a couple of days of spirited practices will be the elixir it needs as it seeks its first road victory of the season.
The Cardinals (6-9 overall, 2-2 Southland Conference) traveled to Hammond, La., on Tuesday for two days of practice at Southeastern Louisiana’s University Center for two days of practice in preparation for Thursday’s 7 p.m. game against the Lady Lions following Monday’s loss at Central Arkansas. The Cardinals are 6-1 at home this season, but 0-8 away from the Montagne Center.
“There’s no doubt we have to play better on the road,” LU coach Robin Harmony said following Monday’s loss. “We need our seniors to step up and show some leadership. We also need to be able to handle adversity.”
The Cardinals trailed by just three points in the third quarter before allowing Central Arkansas to pull away for a 74-49 win on Monday.
Senior guard Addesha Collins led LU with 14 points on Monday. Collins is averaging 21.0 points per game in Southland games to lead the conference. Overall, Collins is second on the team in scoring with an average of 14.1 points per game. Senior guard JaMeisha Edwards is LU’s leading scorer, averaging 15.0 points per contest.
Lamar freshman guard Chastadie Barrs remains second in the nation in steals, averaging 4.13 per game. Edwards is 14th in the nation in 3-pointers at 2.93 per outing.
Southeastern Louisiana (2-12, 1-2) has been idle since a 64-56 loss at Houston Baptist on Saturday. The Lady Lions are led by senior guard KaeLynn Boyd, who transferred to Southeastern Louisiana from UT-Rio Grande Valley. Boyd is averaging 15.3 points per game in the six games she has played since becoming eligible at the end of the first semester due to transfer rules.
Southeastern Louisiana leads the overall series 10-9, but the Cardinals have won the past two meetings, including an 83-60 victory at the Montagne Center last season as five LU players, led by 18 points from Baileigh O’Dell, scored in double figures.
Thursday’s game will air live on the LU athletics website, www.LamarCardinals.com. The Cardinals will return home immediately following Thursday’s game as they get ready to host Northwestern State at 2 p.m. Saturday. That game is the opening contest of a hoops doubleheader at the Montagne Center, with the men’s game between Northwestern State and LU set to get under way at 4:30 p.m.