Lamar advances in Southland tournament with dramatic win over McNeese

After two regular-season victories over rival McNeese, the Lamar University women’s basketball team needed overtime Tuesday to win the third meeting between the teams and advance in the Southland Conference tournament.

McNeese made a furious comeback in the fourth quarter after trailing by double digits, but the Cardinals recovered in the extra period for an 80-75 win in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Lamar now advances into the Southland semifinals for a matchup with No. 2 seed Texas A&M Corpus-Christi on Wednesday. 

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Lamar head coach Aqua Franklin didn’t love that her team allowed a late comeback, but was pleased with how the Cardinals responded in overtime. 

“We’re going to make mistakes but we’ll compete until the end,” Franklin said. “Not all of our wins have been pretty, but we’ve found a way. That’s what we did today.”

Sophomore forward Akasha Davis was the biggest reason Lamar held off McNeese. She recorded her 16th-career double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds, representing game highs in both categories. 

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Lamar entered the fourth quarter up 10 points, but McNeese sophomore guard Kaili Chamberlin kept the Cowgirls in the game. She scored 11 of her 23 total points in the fourth quarter, helping McNeese mount the major comeback and force overtime. 

Both teams traded the lead in the extra period. With the game tied at 73 and 1:38 remaining, Lamar scored 5 straight points with a 3-point shot by Malay McQueen and a lay-up by NJ Weems. The Cardinals led the rest of the way for the overtime victory. 

“We showed everybody how tough we are and that we can find a way to win,” Franklin said. 

The Cardinals will resume their Southland tournament run at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi in the semifinals. Lamar lost both regular season matchups against the Islanders by a combined total of 7 points.

“It’s all about Corpus now,” Franklin said of Lamar moving forward after the win. “It’s about how can we get the win and keep advancing.” 

MFaye@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/mattGfaye