HOUSTON – HCU got a 20-point effort from senior
N'Denasija Collins but the Huskies' women's basketball team fell to Lamar, 65-45, in a Southland Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.
N'Denasija Collins put HCU (5-12, 0-6 SLC) on the board first with a floater on the opening possession but the Cardinals (11-5, 5-1 SLC) answered with the game's next six points. The Lamar lead reached six, 11-5, before
Kennedy Wilson went on a seven-point run for the Huskies, putting HCU ahead, 12-11, with just 58 seconds left in the quarter. The Cardinals regained the lead on their next trip down the floor and led 15-14 heading into the second quarter.
As the second wore on, the Cardinals pushed their lead as high as five, 21-16, in the first five minutes but the Huskies didn't go away with
Elizabeth Matadi and
Enya Maguire scoring consecutive baskets to cut it back down to one, 21-20, with four minutes left in the half. Over the final four minutes, however, Lamar out-scored the Huskies 10-2 for a 31-22 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Huskies briefly cut their deficit back down to single-digits after Wilson made a pair of free throws for a 39-30 score at the 6:15 mark. Lamar scored the next four and led by double-figures the rest of the way, limiting any chance of HCU making a run.
Collins led the Huskies with 20 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point range, and pulled down eight rebounds to go along with three assists. Wilson finished with 16 points, three assists and three rebounds while
Jo Oly added eight boards. Wilson moved into 12
th on the HCU all-time scoring list with her 12
th point of the day.
Enya Maguire ended the day with eight points.
Lamar was led by Akasha Davis who posted a double-double of 29 points and 15 rebounds, finishing 13-of-20 from the field. The Cardinals forced HCU into 19 turnovers while committing just six miscues and held a 32-29 advantage on the boards. The Huskies shot 48.8 percent (21-of-43) from the field, compared to just 42.6 percent (26-of-61) for Lamar.
The Huskies wrap up their three-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 25, when they host defending SLC champion Southeastern at 6:00 p.m.
