Feb. 13, 2008

ARLINGTON, Texas - In a matchup of two of the top teams in the Southland Conference, the Lamar University women's basketball team will take on the UT-Arlington Mavericks on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Texas Hall in Arlington, Texas.

At 6-2 in SLC play the Lady Cardinals sit atop the East division and are joined by UTA with just two losses in conference play.

Lamar enters the game with a 13-8 overall record and a 6-2 record in Southland Conference play, on the heels of a 73-67 loss at Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday in Hammond, La.

The Lady Cardinals are led by freshman Tamara Abalde, who is averaging team highs with 17.4 points per game along with 7.5 rebounds per game, while junior Nikki Williams is averaging 13.7 points per game and has a team-high 87 assists and 50 steals. Sophomore Brittney Williams is averaging 13.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while senior Aida Bakhos is averaging 7.2 points 7.1 rebounds per game.

As a team the Lady Cardinals are shooting .408 from the field and are averaging 66.4 points per game while allowing 63.8 points per game. Lamar has also won the battle on the boards this season, out rebounding their opponents 39 to 37.1.

UT-Arlington enters the game with a 7-2 record in league play and a 12-8 overall record. They are coming off a 63-59 loss at Texas State on Saturday.

The Mavericks are led by Maryann Abanobi's 12.5 points per game, while Candice Champion is averaging 10.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. UTA is led in rebounding by Tiffeny Riles and Erin Dixon who are averaging 6.9 and 6.7 rebounds per game respectively.

As a team the Mavs are averaging 67.7 points per game, while allowing their opponents to score 65.1 points per contest. They are shooting .411 from the field, while their opponents are connecting on .380 of their shots. They have also controlled the glass this year, out rebounding their opponents 42.2 to 38.1.

After Thursday's game the Lady Cards will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host the Texas State Bobcats at 4:00 at the Montagne Center.