BEAUMONT, Texas — The Lamar University women's basketball program battled back and forth with the Incarnate Word Cardinals and came out on top at the final whistle over UIW, 59-55, at the Montagne Center on Wednesday night.
The Cardinals battled in the first quarter despite falling down early in the frame. Freshman Bebe Galloway got the Big Red scoring open on a layup down low before another layup just seconds later by senior Jadyn Pimentel evened things out in the Montagne. Lamar took their first lead of the game on a free-throw by freshman Sabria Dean at the 6:37 mark in the period.
Both teams almost carried the same shooting percentage in the first as UIW shot 46 percent from the field while limiting the Cards to just 40 percent. Lamar dominated the glass in the opening frame, outrebounding the Southland's other Cardinals, 12-4, in the first.
The second quarter was another battle between the programs as senior Shedricka Pierson lead the Cards with five points in the frame. The Cardinals shot 56 percent from the field while limiting UIW to 40 percent in the second frame. The Big Red tallied nine points off of turnovers, but despite some hot shooting and pressure defense the Southland's other Cards took a 28-27 lead over Lamar into the halftime break.
The Cardinals bounced back in the third to take the lead over UIW behind Pierson and redshirt junior Micaela Wilson. Lamar kept up the hot shooting in the third by tallying 50 percent in the frame while head coach Aqua Franklin's locked down defense kept UIW at 38 percent from the floor.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were looking to create some breathing room, and they got that but UIW answered back with runs of their own to keep the game close. A massive three-pointer by Wilson helped seal the deal for the Cards and crucial fouls committed by UIW kept Lamar in the lead in the winding minutes of the contest and as the final buzzer went off, the Cards found themselves on top of UIW for a 59-55 win in the Montagne.
For Lamar, four players tallied double digits with Wilson and Galloway both finishing the night with 14 apiece. Pierson added 13 points to Lamar's total and recorded four rebounds. Wilson nearly finished with another double-double as she tallied nine rebounds on the night.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals will turn their focus to the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks when the Big Red will host them for Senior Day on Saturday, February 27th with tip-off slated for 2:00 p.m. CT inside the Montagne Center.