March 13, 2009

Katy, Texas -

No. 4 Lamar University vs. No. 1 UT Arlington

SEMIFINALS OPPONENT

NO. 4 LAMAR (20-10) VS. NO. 1 UT ARLINGTON (21-9)

FRIDAY, MARCH 13 @ 2:33 P.M.

SOUTING THE CARDINALS
- No. 4 Lamar University moved to the second round of the SLC Tournament after recording a 76-64 win over Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday, Mar. 11 at the Merrell Center in Katy , Texas

- The Lady Cardinals enter Friday's game with a 20-10 season record and a final Southland Conference record of 10-6.

- Nikki Williams led the Cardinals with a game high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 2-of-5 from three-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line, to go with six boards and four assists.

- Friday's match-up will be the third time this season that both teams will go head-to-head.

- The Mavericks and the Cardinals split their season series with the home team winning on both occasions.

- Lamar is led by N. Williams who is averaging 14.4 points per game while Brittney Williams and Darika Hill are averaging 12 and 11.3 points per game respectively. Trashanna Smith leads the team in rebounding and blocked shots with 8.5 boards per game and has 54 blocks on the year, while Ang Green has been the leading scorer off the bench with 8.7 points per game.

Last Time vs. Lamar
- UTA won the last meeting against the Cardinals with a 66-59 decision at Texas Hall on Feb. 25.

- Tamara Simmons and Candice Champion led the Mavericks with 20 points while Shalyn Martin scored 12 points.

- UT Arlington lost the battle in rebounding but won points off of turnovers, 19-8 over the Cardinals. The Mavericks finished the game shooting 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the floor, 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from three-point range and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the charity stripe.

- The Cardinals were led by Brittany Williams who finished with 15 points while N. Williams added 13 points and five rebounds.

No. 1 UTA vs. No. 8 A&M-Corpus Christi
(Quarterfinals SLC Tournament)

A team effort is what led the Mavericks to all five starters finishing in double-digit scoring. Both Erin Dixon and Tamara Simmons collected 15 points while senior Candice Champion finished with 14, Meghan Nelson added 13 and Shalyn Martin scored 10.

It didn't take long for UTA to take control of the game and lead by 10 points following a three by Martin with 14:40 in the first half. The Mavericks pushed the tempo throughout the first stanza, taking a 17 point advantage after Nelson connected on a pair of freebies at the line, with 11:51 left to play.

The Mavericks didn't let up, keeping their lead in double figures and headed into the locker rooms with a 51-26 lead over the Islanders.

UTA connected on 50 percent (16-of-32) from field goal range, 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from the three-point line and 75 percent 15-of-20 from the free throw line in the first half.

The Mavericks entered the second half with more energy than the first, extending to a 28 point lead, at 62-34 with 14:32 left in the game. The Islanders went on a 9-3 run, cutting the deficit to 22 points, at 65-43 with 12:08 remaining. That was as close as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi would get as the Mavs powered their way to a 32 point lead to end the game.

Dixon recorded her 12th double-double of the season, finishing with 15-points and 14 rebounds and LaTosha Duffey scored 12 points.

The Mavericks out-rebounded the Islanders by a 52-27 margin and posted 42 points in the paint to TAMU-CC's 36.

UTA finished the game shooting 43.2 percent (32-of-74) from the field, 46.7 (7-of-15) from behind the arc and 76.9 percent (20-of-26) from the free throw line. Shaye Montgomery finished with 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor, 2-of-8 from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.