Lamar coach Larry Tidwell Earns 100th Career Victory
Lamar 58, Northwestern State 56
BEAUMONT, Texas - It wasn't easy, but Lamar University women's basketball coach Larry Tidwell earned his 100th career victory Wednesday night as the Lady Cardinals held on for a 58-56 win over visiting Northwestern State in a Southland Conference game.
Lamar (10-9 overall, 2-3 Southland) almost squandered a 19-point second-half lead, but held on to make Tidwell just second coach in Lady Cardinals' history to reach the 100-win plateau. Pat Park holds the Lamar record with 109 victories.
Lamar held a 30-15 lead at halftime, and boosted that advantage to 34-15 just 48 seconds into the second half on a steal and layup by Kalis Loyd. But Northwestern State (5-14, 1-5) fought back and got to within one point in the final 30 seconds as Jordi James' jumper cut the Lamar lead to 55-54.
For a complete recap, visit www.lamarcardinals.com or www.nsudemons.com.
Stephen F. Austin 69, Sam Houston State 67
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Against their biggest rival and on the heels of a two-game losing streak, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks claimed their most critical victory of the season with a 69-67 triumph at Sam Houston State Wednesday evening at Bernard J. Johnson Coliseum.
Over the final two minutes of regulation the Ladyjacks outscored Sam Houston 11-8 and survived some late game heroics from Britni Martin to escape with the win.
Ashlee Mells tied a career-high with 19 points and Tammara Marion followed with 17 to help the Ladyjacks put an end to their first losing skid of the season. SFA trailed by as much as eight points in the second half but a late push by SFA put them within striking distance in the final two minutes.
For a complete recap, visit www.sfajacks.cstv.com or www.gobearkats.com.
Central Arkansas 71, Southeastern Louisiana 54
CONWAY, Ark. - Another big second half, another win for Central Arkansas.
For the fourth straight game, the Sugar Bears had a decided second half-advantage to pull away from their opponent - this time outscoring Southeastern Louisiana 49-30 in the final period to score a 71-54 victory in Southland Conference play Wednesday night at the Farris Center.
The Sugar Bears (15-4, 5-1 Southland) trailed 24-22 at the half against the Lady Lions (5-13, 0-5), their third straight game to trail at the half, but once again turned up the intensity in the second half to pull out the win. The Sugar Bears have now outscored their last four opponents 176-100 - an average of 44-25, in the second half.
After shooting just 30.8 in the first half, the Sugar Bears were red-hot in the second half as they hit 66.7 percent (16 of 24) from the field and were 80 percent (4 for 5) from the 3-point line. The major catalyst was junior forward Megan Herbert, who had 20 points in the second half en route to a game-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting (76.9 percent) to go along with nine rebounds.
For a complete recap, visit www.ucasports.com or www.lionsports.net.
Texas State 73, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 67
SAN MARCOS, Texas - Diamond Ford scored her 1,000th career point as part of Texas State's 73-67 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Wednesday at Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcats have now won three straight home games to begin Southland Conference play for the first time since 2004-05.
Ford eclipsed the career 1,000 point total at the 15:52 mark in the second half, hitting a left corner three, her third of the game to give the Bobcats a 50-38 lead. She finished the game as the leading scorer with 22 points.
Texas State had to hold off a late Islander charge, as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was able to make it a five-point game with 5.3 seconds remaining. However the Islanders had a charge called on them, giving the ball back to the Bobcats, and Ford hit one of her two free throws to give the Bobcats the six-point win.
For a complete recap, visit www.txstatebobcats.com or www.goislanders.com.