Late rally and cold fourth quarter halt Cardinals

BEAUMONT, Texas — With a seven point lead and under four minutes to go in the game, Lamar University's women's basketball team appeared to be in the driver's seat as they looked to pick up another Montagne Center victory. But the UT-Arlington Mavericks had other ideas as they stormed back to finish the game on a 16-5 run and hand LU a 60-56 loss. The Cardinals currently sit at 3-3 for the season.

Sabria Dean would be LU's lone double-digit scorer as she finished with a team-high 20 points and five steals. Malay McQueen recorded nine points and four steals while Portia Adams tallied eight points for the game. UTA outshot LU from the field (43.2%-40.0%) and from the free throw line (69.2%-55.6%) while also winning the rebound battle 36-27.

The Mavericks opened the contest going on a 6-2 run. Big Red turned up the pressure and rallied with a strong 13-1 surge. Dean netted five points in the run while R'Mani Taylor came off the bench to hit a couple of threes that gave the Cardinals a 15-7 edge. UTA tallied a basket to trail 15-9 in the first quarter, which saw LU connect on 40% from the field.

LU carried the momentum from the first into the second as Adams connected with a pair of jumper to give LU their first double-digit lead of the game at 19-9. Following a Big Red free throw, the Mavericks were behind 20-9 before they suddenly took control with a 14-2 run to grab the one-point lead. Taliah Hill converted a three-point play while Dean added a three-pointer to close the first half with LU leading 27-24.

For most of the third quarter, UTA prevented LU from going ahead by more than five points. But with 3:09 to go, after Akasha Davis converted a pair of three throws, another Dean three saw LU up 41-32. That didn't faze the Mavericks, who managed to score six of the final nine points to trail 44-38 going to the final quarter. With 50% made from the field, this was the highest field goal percentage for the Cardinals in any quarter all-game long.

However, the fourth quarter would see LU hit their lowest total of 31.3% from the field. Much like the second quarter, the Cardinals extended their lead to three possessions as jumpers by McQueen and Davis brought LU up 48-41 with 7:36 to go. UTA would creep back to the contest and trail by four only for Dean to step up with another three-pointer with 3:58 to play and LU was given a 51-44 lead. But for the next 3:22, the Cardinals went into a cold stretch and the Mavericks caught fire scoring with 12 straight points to secure a five point lead. Dean ended the UTA run with 29 seconds to go, but LU was unable to prevent Maverick free throws that iced the comeback win.

The Cardinals will look to bounce back as they welcome in Loyola-New Orleans this Tuesday night at the Montagne Center. Tip-off is slated to start at 7:00 p.m.