Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT — The Lamar women’s basketball team hits the road to face No. 6 Mississippi State on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum. This will be the second-ever meeting between these two teams.

The first matchup between these two teams came on Feb. 4, 1981, when the Bulldogs defeated the Cardinals, 92-62.

On Saturday, Moe Kinard became the 15th player in Lamar women’s basketball history to score 1,000 points in her career. She accomplished the milestone in the second quarter against McMurry. For her career, Kinard has scored 1,046 points, which puts her 13th best in LU history.

LAST TIME OUT: Louisiana College

Kinard tied her career-high with 31 points and led the Lamar women’s basketball team to a 94-43 victory over Louisiana College on Monday night at the Montagne Center. Kinard shot 58 percent (11-for-19) in the contest.

As a team, the Cardinals shot 50 percent (34-for-68) from the floor including hitting a season-high 13 threes. Kinard hit five threes, Jadyn Pimentel and Miya Crump hit three threes’ apiece. Crump followed with 19 points and Pimentel scored 17 in the game.

The win for the Cards is its 30th straight victory at the Montagne Center. The winning streak is the second longest home court winning streak in the nation.

“The first 15 minutes of the contest we got off to a slow start and we played to the opponent’s level,” remarked head coach Robin Harmony. “We had a great week of practice and we weren’t expecting that and our kids took them lightly. They had some guards who were quick, and they broke our press easy and that rattled us.”

THIS WEEK: Lamar at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. Thursday

The Bulldogs of Mississippi State enters the contest against the Cardinals with a record of 2-0. They have wins over Southeast Missouri, 88-53, and Virginia, 72-44. The Bulldogs started the season as the No. 6 team in the nation. Last season, Mississippi State lost to Notre Dame, 61-58, in the NCAA Championship game.

This season, the Bulldogs return seven letter winners, including one starter from last year’s team. They welcomed five newcomers to this year’s team. Over its first two games, Mississippi State is averaging 80.0 points per game and only allowing 48.5 points per game.

They are shooting 44.6 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent on three’s over its first two contests. MSU is holding opponents to a field goal percentage mark of 28.9. The Bulldogs have outrebounded its opponents by 13 rebounds per game.

Mississippi State was tabbed to win the Southeastern Conference this season. Teaira McCowan was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year while graduate transfer Anriel Howard was named Preseason First Team All-SEC.

UP NEXT

Following the game in Starkville, Mississippi, the Cardinals return home to the Montagne Center to face LeTourneau University on Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. LU will be looking for its 31st straight win at the Montagne Center.

TICKETS

For tickets for LU home games, please call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE. The Montagne Center ticket office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. It reopens one hour prior to tipoff on weeknights and weekends. LU students receive free admission to home games with their Cardinal One card.

Fans can stay tuned to LamarCardinals.com or @LamarAthletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all season long for updates on women’s basketball and all other Big Red teams competing in the 2018-19 season.