Lamar sports information

CONWAY, Ark. – Moe Kinard poured in 25 points to lead the Lamar Cardinals to an impressive 70-56 win over the host Central Arkansas Sugar Bears in the Southland Conference women’s basketball opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon.

Chastadie Barrs had 16 points, while Kiara Desamours added 10 points for the Cardinals (8-3, 1-0 Southland), who ran their winning streak to seven games.

“This was a tremendous win,” LU coach Robin Harmony said. “We showed a lot of heart and desire. We came in here and showed them that we weren’t ready to lose. This will make the long bus ride home much more enjoyable.”

Both teams started out tentatively, with the first quarter ending in a 13-13 tie. LU closed out the second quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 33-26 lead into intermission.

The Cardinals stormed out of the locker room, scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to increase their lead to 40-26. Central Arkansas (8-3, 0-1), the defending Southland Conference Tournament champions, battled back to cut the LU lead to 43-40 with 2:07 remaining in the third quarter before the Cardinals scored the final seven points of the period to take 50-40 lead.

LU scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to increase its margin to 56-40, and didn’t let Central Arkansas get any closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

“Central Arkansas switched their defense and made a run at us, but we responded,” Harmony said. “I’m very proud of the way this team played today.”

Barrs played all 40 minutes, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds to go with four assists and three steals with just one turnover. Barrs has at least one steal in all 42 games of her career.

The Cardinals held a 40-37 rebounding edge for the game, and forced the Sugar Bears, who averaged 12.5 turnovers per game, into 18 turnovers Saturday.

The Sugar Bears, who entered the game fifth in the nation in defense, allowing an average of 50 points per game, surrendered more than 60 points for just the third time this season.

“This was a good team win,” Harmony said. “Freshmen like Kyla Green (five points, four rebounds) and Briana Laidler (two points, three rebounds) stepped right in and gave us quality minutes. They found out what conference play is like, and had big contributions.”

Brianna Mullins, Kiera Jordan and Tylor Strickland had 11 points apiece for Central Arkansas.

The Cardinals return home to open a three-game Southland Conference homestand by hosting New Orleans at 5:30 p.m. Thursday as the Cardinals go for their first eight-game winning streak in six seasons.

The homestand also includes games against Southeastern Louisiana at 2 p.m. Jan. 7 and Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. Jan. 12.

“This was a statement win for us, but now we have to take care of business at home,” Harmony said. “This road win won’t mean anything if we don’t come away with wins at home.”