Lamar guard Jacei Denley goes up for a basket against two TAMUCC defenders during the Southland Conference tournament final, in The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, La. March 14. UP photo by Brian Quijada.
The Lamar women’s basketball team lost to Texas A&M Corpus-Christi in the Southland Conference tournament final, 61-68, March 14, in The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, La.
The Lady Cardinals started off slow in the first half, scoring 23 points compared to the Lady Islanders’ 31. LU would later cut the 14-point lead down to three in the last six minutes of the game. The Lady Islanders would go on to hit big shots and land free throws to seal the win.
Lamar shot a low 32.8% from the field and 16.7% from the three-point line. Lack of defense proved to be vital for the Cardinals as TAMUCC dominated offensively. The Lady Cards ended the game with 11 steals, with Brooklyn Mitchell and R’Mani Taylor having three each.
LU’s Akasha Davis and Malay McQueen guard a TAMUCC player during the Southland Conference tournament final, in The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, La. March 14. UP photo by Brian Quijada.
Akasha Davis recorded her 19th double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Sabria Dean also finished the game in double figures scoring 19 points.
Head Coach Aqua Franklin recognized her team’s slow start and costly turnovers.
“First half, we didn't do a great job of moving the basketball, getting in the paint, settling a lot, and we’ve got to be better than that,” Franklin said. “That's not our style of play. They outscored us in the paint, which we try to not let people do, 36 to 28. So, that's a stat that we're always looking at. We turned the ball over a little too much, and they capitalize off that.”
LU senior guard Sabria Dean went down with an ankle injury in the last five minutes of the game but still played through to the end.
“I'm the captain of the team, I'm the leader, so I feel like it wouldn't have been right for me to leave my team,” Dean said. “It's internal, push it through.”
Lamar ended their season with 24 wins and six losses, finishing first in the Southland Conference with 11 wins and only one loss.
This is the second time the Lady Cardinals have lost in the SLC tournament final in the last two seasons. Last year, the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions beat the Lady Cardinals to win it all. Lamar hasn't won a Southland Conference tournament championship since 2010.
“We just gotta learn how to win this game,” Coach Franklin said. “We gotta play two halves. We can't let the moment get too big. We talked about that. We've been taking it one game at a time. Don't let this moment get too big.”
