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Buy Photos HereBEAUMONT, Texas – Down as many as 14 in the third quarter, HBU cut the deficit to six late in the frame, but could get no closer as Lamar defeated the Huskies, 77-70, Saturday afternoon from the Montagne Center.
Rachel Arthur led HBU (8-9 overall, 3-4 SLC) with 20 points, but played in 24 minutes as she was one of three Huskies playing with four fouls.
Anna Strickland posted her 13th double-double this season and 20th in her career with 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. She also had four assists, three blocked shots, and one steal.
Monet Neal (12),
Lisa Zderadicka (10), and
Heidi Sihvola (10) rounded out the quintet. The 10 points for Sihvola were the most against a Division I opponent since she dropped that many against Stephen F. Austin last March in the SLC quarterfinals.
Addesha Collins scored a game-high 24 points for Lamar (8-11, 4-4), while Chastidie Barrs had 14 points, nine rebounds, seven steals, three assists, and one block. Laka Blache (16) and Kiara Desmours (15) also finished in double figures.
After spotting Lamar a 2-0 lead, HBU rattled off six-straight points on consecutive baskets by Strickland and a jumper by Arthur. Lamar scored the next six points to take an 8-6 lead. An Arthur free throw stopped the run, but the Cardinals and Huskies would end the quarter neck-and-neck, 11-10 in favor of Lamar. Neal had consecutive and-one plays late in the quarter to keep the Huskies in it.
A Sihvola jumper 44 seconds into the second quarter cut the Lamar deficit to two, 21-19, but the Cardinals would use a 10-2 run to take a 31-21 advantage with just under five minutes left in the second quarter. Sihvola nailed a trey to cut the deficit to seven, but the Cardinals would increase their lead to 11 on a 4-0 run, culminated by a Barrs steal and Collins fast-break layup, forcing the Huskies to call a timeout with two minutes left in the opening half. Sihvola hit another three-pointer with 20 ticks left to cut the deficit to eight, 39-31, at the break.
Both Strickland and Sihvola paced HBU with 10 points apiece. Lamar was led by Collins' 13 points, followed by Blanche with 10. HBU shot 43 percent from the floor in the half compared to 54 percent for the Cardinals.
Lamar opened the third quarter outscoring HBU, 11-5, for its largest lead of the game at the time, 50-36, with 7:27 left in the frame. The Huskies battled back, highlighted by Arthur's 11 points in the quarter, and entered the fourth trailing the Cardinals by 10, 64-54. HBU trailed by as few as six, 58-52, with 1:47 remaining.
The Cardinals ran its lead to 17 midway through the fourth quarter, but an 8-0 HBU run cut the deficit to single digits, 73-64, with 2:39 remaining in regulation. The Huskies remained down by nine with 51 seconds, but a Desemours steal resulting in free throws eliminated the threat of a comeback.
HBU closes its four-game road swing Wednesday at conference leader Abilene Christian.
