The Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition.[2] The team plays in the 10,080 seat Montagne Center. The Lady Cardinals currently compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Southland Conference.
| Lamar Lady Cardinals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| University | Lamar University | ||
| Head coach | Aqua Franklin (5th season) | ||
| Conference | Southland | ||
| Location | Beaumont, Texas | ||
| Arena | Montagne Center (Capacity: 10,080) | ||
| Nickname | Lady Cardinals | ||
| Student section | The Flock | ||
| Colors | Red and white[1] | ||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
| NCAA tournament Elite Eight | |||
| 1991 | |||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
| 1991 | |||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | |||
| 1991 | |||
| NCAA tournament appearances | |||
| 1991, 2010 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| American South: 1991 Southland: 2010 | |||
| Conference regular season champions | |||
| American South: 1991 Sun Belt: 1992 Southland: 2010, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2024 | |||
| Conference division season champions | |||
| Southland: 2008 (East), 2010 (West) | |||
History edit
The Lady Cardinals have competed as members of four conferences at the NCAA Division I level. Lamar competed in the Southland Conference beginning in 1983. The Lady Cardinals competed in the American South Conference from 1987 to 1991. From 1991 to 1998, the Lady Cardinals competed as members of the Sun Belt Conference. Lamar returned to the Southland Conference beginning with the 1998–99 season. The Lady Cardinals moved to the Western Athletic Conference in 2021 rejoining the Southland Conference on July 11, 2022 after one year in the WAC.[3][4]
Al Barbre years edit
In the 1991 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Lamar, under coach Al Barbre, made a run as a tenth seed in the Austin regional. The 1991 Lady Cardinals defeated Texas, LSU and Arkansas before being defeated by Virginia in the Elite Eight. Virginia went on to lose in the National championship game by 3 points.
Larry Tidwell years edit
Larry Tidwell coached the women's basketball team from 2007 through the end of the 2012-2013 season. Coach Tidwell turned the team around from a struggling program to a perennial power in the Southland Conference. In 2010 the team won the regular season and conference tournament to advance to the 2010 NCAA tournament. The Lady Cardinals made their first ever appearance in the preseason WNIT in the fall of 2010. In the 2011 season, coach Tidwell's Lady Cardinals received their first top 100 RPI ranking (RPI #80) since the figures were made public in the 2005 season.[5]The 2010-2011 squad finished with a record of 25-8 and made an appearance in the 2011 post season WNIT.
Coach Tidwell resigned his position in March, 2013 to take a position at University of Texas-Pan American as head women's basketball coach.[6]
Robin Harmony years edit
Robin Harmony was named head coach on April 30, 2013[7] and remained until April 2019. Her first Lady Cardinal team shared the Southland Conference regular season title. The Lady Cardinals also participated in their second WNIT and fourth post season tournament appearance in five seasons.[8] The Lady Cardinals competed in the WBI tournament in 2017. The team won the 2017-18 Southland Conference regular season title repeating as champions in 2018-19. The Lady Cardinals represented the Southland Conference in the Women's National Invitation Tournament for the third and the fourth time.
Coach Harmony resigned her position on April 19, 2019 to become head women's basketball coach for the College of Charleston.[9][10][11]
Aqua Franklin years edit
Aqua Franklin was named head coach on May 1, 2019 becoming the 14th women's basketball head coach in program history. Her 2024 team won the Southland Conference regular season championship. Franklin was named as 2023–24 conference coach of the year.[12][13]
Year-by-year results edit
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIAW (Independent) (1969–1982) | |||||||||
| 1969–1970 | Marilyn Krause | 2–9 | |||||||
| 1970–1971 | Marilyn Krause | 7–9 | |||||||
| 1971–1972 | Marilyn Krause | 13–10 | |||||||
| Marilyn Krause: | 22–28 | – | |||||||
| 1972–1973 | Pat Park | 19–11 | |||||||
| 1973–1974 | Pat Park | 11–12 | |||||||
| 1974–1975 | Pat Park | 23–11 | |||||||
| 1975–1976 | Pat Park | 22–8 | |||||||
| 1976–1977 | Pat Park | 13–17 | |||||||
| 1977–1978 | Pat Park | 21–13 | |||||||
| Pat Park: | 109–72 | – | |||||||
| 1978–1979 | Cindy Russo | 16–11 | |||||||
| 1979–1980 | Cindy Russo | 20–11 | |||||||
| Cindy Russo: | 36–22 | – | |||||||
| 1980–1981 | Iwana McGee | 7–20 | |||||||
| Iwana McGee: | 7–22 | – | |||||||
| 1981–1982 | Pat Ramsey | 11–18 | |||||||
| Southland Conference (1982–1987) | |||||||||
| 1982–1983 | Pat Ramsey | 15–12 | 1–4 | 4th | |||||
| 1983–1984 | Pat Ramsey | 10–17 | 4–8 | 6th | |||||
| Pat Ramsey: | 36–47 | 5–12 | |||||||
| 1984–1985 | Charlotte (Chickie) Mason | 12–15 | 7–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 1985–1986 | Charlotte (Chickie) Mason | 5–21 | 2–10 | 6th | |||||
| Charlotte (Chickie) Mason: | 17–36 | 9–15 | |||||||
| 1986–1987 | Al Barbre | 2–24 | 1–11 | 7th | |||||
| American South Conference (1987–1991) | |||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Al Barbre | 14–14 | 4–5 | ||||||
| 1988–1989 | Al Barbre | 18–10 | 6–4 | ||||||
| 1989–1990 | Al Barbre | 19–10 | 7–3 | ||||||
| 1990–1991 | Al Barbre | 29*–4 | 12*–0 | 1st | NCAA (Elite Eight) | ||||
| Al Barbre: | 82–62 | 30–23 | |||||||
| Sun Belt Conference (1991–1998) | |||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Liz McQuitter | 21–7 | 13–3 | 1st T | |||||
| 1992–1993 | Liz McQuitter | 10–16 | 4–10 | ||||||
| 1993–1994 | Liz McQuitter | 8–19 | 5–9 | ||||||
| Liz McQuitter: | 39–42 | 22–22 | |||||||
| 1994–1995 | David McKey | 16–12 | 10–4 | ||||||
| 1995–1996 | David McKey | 14–15 | 8–6 | ||||||
| 1996-1997 | David McKey | 5–22 | 2–12 | ||||||
| 1997–1998 | David McKey | 5–22 | 2–12 | ||||||
| David McKey: | 40–71 | 22–34 | |||||||
| Southland Conference (1998–Present) | |||||||||
| 1998–1999 | De Ann Craft | 9–17 | 6–12 | 9th | |||||
| 1999–2000 | De Ann Craft | 10–17 | 5–13 | 8th | |||||
| 2000–2001 | De Ann Craft | 12–16 | 10–10 | 6th | |||||
| 2001–2002 | De Ann Craft | 8–20 | 6–14 | 9th | |||||
| De Ann Craft: | 39–70 | 27–49 | |||||||
| 2002–2003 | Leonard Drake | 3–24 | 2–18 | 11th | |||||
| 2003–2004 | Leonard Drake | 4–22 | 1–15 | 10th | |||||
| 2004–2005 | Leonard Drake | 9–18 | 3–13 | 11th | |||||
| 2005–2006 | Leonard Drake | 7–20 | 2–14 | 8th | |||||
| 2006–2007 | Leonard Drake | 13–17 | 8–8 | 7th T | |||||
| Leonard Drake: | 36–101 | 16–68 | |||||||
| 2007–2008 | Larry Tidwell | 19–13 | 10–6 | 2nd | |||||
| 2008–2009 | Larry Tidwell | 20–11 | 10–6 | 4th T | |||||
| 2009-2010 | Larry Tidwell | 26–8 | 13–3 | 1st T | NCAA (1st Round) | ||||
| 2010–2011 | Larry Tidwell | 25–8 | 13–3 | 2nd | WNIT (1st Round) | ||||
| 2011–2012 | Larry Tidwell | 16–15 | 8–8 | 5th T | |||||
| 2012–2013 | Larry Tidwell | 22–11 | 12–6 | 3rd | WBI (2nd Round) | ||||
| Larry Tidwell: | 128–66 | 66–32 | |||||||
| 2013–2014 | Robin Harmony | 18–13 | 13–5 | 1st T | WNIT (1st Round) | ||||
| 2014–2015 | Robin Harmony | 17–13 | 14–4 | 2nd | |||||
| 2015–2016 | Robin Harmony | 12–19 | 7–11 | 8th T | |||||
| 2016–2017 | Robin Harmony | 22–8 | 15–3 | 3rd | WBI (1st Round) | ||||
| 2017–2018 | Robin Harmony | 22–6 | 17–1 | 1st | WNIT First round | ||||
| 2018–2019 | Robin Harmony | 24–7 | 17–1 | 1st | WNIT First round | ||||
| Robin Harmony: | 115–66 | 83–25 | |||||||
| 2019–2020 | Aqua Franklin | 10–19 | 6–14 | 10th | |||||
| 2020–2021 | Aqua Franklin | 10–14 | 9–6 | 4th | |||||
| Western Athletic Conference (2021–2023) | |||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Aqua Franklin | 14–15 | 8–10 | 7th T | |||||
| Southland Conference (2022–present) | |||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Aqua Franklin | 20–12 | 12–6 | 3rd | SLC tournament finalist. | ||||
| 2023–2024 | Aqua Franklin | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1st | |||||
| Aqua Franklin: | 54–60 | 35–36 | |||||||
| Total: | 764-758 (.502) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
Notes:*1990-1991 wins vacated by the NCAA
*The Lady Cardinals competed in the AIAW through 1982. From that point forward, they competed in NCAA Division I.
Source:[14]
Yearly attendance edit
Below is the Lady Cardinals' home attendance since the 2004–05 season.
| Season | Average | High |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly Home Attendance | ||
| 2022-23[15][16] | 1,089 | 1,458 |
| 2021-22[17] | 882 | 1,512 |
| 2020-21[18] | 572 | 1,239 |
| 2019-20[19] | 1,142 | 3,856 |
| 2018-19[20] | 1,992 | 5,218 |
| 2017-18[21] | 720 | 1,297 |
| 2016-17[22] | 708 | 921 |
| 2015-16[23] | 694 | 888 |
| 2014-15[24] | 793 | 997 |
| 2013-14[25] | 764 | 891 |
| 2012-13[26] | 725 | 1,232 |
| 2011-12[27] | 1,005 | 2,427 |
| 2010-11[28] | 1,555 | 4,164 |
| 2009-10[29] | 1,040 | 1,902 |
| 2008-09[30] | 393 | 1,012 |
| 2007-08[31] | 461 | 1,187 |
| 2006-07[32] | 328 | 1,071 |
| 2005-06[33] | 359 | 560 |
| 2004-05[34] | 383 | 531 |
As of the 2022-23 season.
Record single game home attendance for a women's game (9,143) was set in a second-round game of the 1991 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament played in the Montagne Center against the LSU Tigers on March 17, 1991.[35][36]
Postseason edit
Sources: [37]
NCAA Division I Tournament results edit
The Cardinals have appeared in two NCAA Division I Tournaments, all as Lamar University. Their combined record is 3–2.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I Tournament Results | ||||
| 1991 | #10 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #7 Texas #2 LSU #3 Arkansas #1 Virginia | W 77–63 W 93–73 W 91–75 L 70–85 |
| 2010 | #14 | First Round | #3 West Virginia | L 48–58 |
WNIT results edit
The Cardinals have appeared in four Women's National Invitation Tournaments (WNIT). Their combined record is 0–4.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| WNIT Results | |||
| 2011 | First Round | Arkansas | L 65–91 |
| 2014 | First Round | Southern Mississippi | L 50–75 |
| 2018 | First Round | TCU | L 68–80 |
| 2019 | First Round | South Alabama | L 71–73 |
WBI results edit
The Cardinals have appeared in two Women's Basketball Invitational Tournaments (WBI). Their record is 1–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| WBI Results | |||
| 2013 | First Round Second Round | Presbyterian South Dakota | W 70–48 L 48–71 |
| 2017 | First Round | Rice | L 72–73 |
Awards and honors edit
Western Athletic Conference edit
Freshman of the Year edit
- Akasha Davis, 2021
Southland Conference edit
Coach of the Year edit
- Robin Harmony, 2018
Player of the Year edit
- Shawnta Vanzant, 2001
- Jenna Plumley, 2010
Defensive Player of the Year edit
- Chastadie Barrs, 2016, 2017, 2018
All Conference First Team edit
- Kara Audery, 1983, 84
- Joy Ommen, 1983
- Talla Goudy, 1999
- Shawnta Vanzant, 2001
- LaToya Carson, 2006
- Tamara Abalde, 2008
- Jenna Plumley, 2010, 11
- Kallis Lloyd, 2011, 12, 13
- Gia Ayers, 2014
- JaMeisha Edwards, 2015
- Chastadie Barrs, 2018
- Moe Kinard, 2018
- Akasha Davis, 2022
Newcomer of the Year edit
- Shawnta Vanzant, 2001
- Darika Hill, 2009
- Jenna Plumley, 2010
- Monique Whitaker, 2011
- Moe Kinard, 2017
Freshman of the Year edit
- Brittney Williams, 2007
- Tamara Abalde, 2008
- Kiara Desamours, 2016
- Jadyn Pimentel, 2018
All-Conference Defensive Team edit
- Kallis Lloyd, 2013
- Careen Baylor, 2013
- Gia Ayers, 2014
- JaMeisha Edwards, 2015
- Chastadie Barrs, 2016, 2017, 2018
- Kiandra Bowers, 2018
Southland Conference individual record holders edit
- Most three-pointers made (season) - Jenna Plumley (100) - 2010
- Most three-pointers made (career) - Jenna Plumley (205) - 2007-11
- Most three-pointers attempted (season) - Jenna Plumley (298) - 2010
- Most three-pointers attempted (career) - Jenna Plumley (869) - 2007-11
- Highest three-point goal percentage (game) - Emily Spickler (7-7) - 2009
- Highest three-point goal percentage (season) - Emily Spickler (58-118) - 2009
- Highest three-point goal percentage (career) - Emily Spickler (100-232) - 2007-09
- Highest free throw percentage (career) - Jenna Plumley (234-278) - 2007-11
- Most rebounds (game) - Anna Strickland (31) - 2016
- Most steals (game) - Neno Anguiano (13) - 2000 (tied)
- Most steals (season) - Chastadie Barrs (191) - 2018
- Most steals (career) - Chastadies Barrs (451)
American South Conference edit
All-Conference First Team edit
- Cassie Brooks, 1988, 1989
- Uirannah Jackson, 1990
- Brenda Hatchett, 1991
- Barbara Hickey, 1991
Newcomer of the Year edit
- Cassie Brooks, 1988
- Uirannah Jackson, 1989
Coach of the Year edit
- Al Barbre, 1988 (shared), 1989 (shared), 1991
Sun Belt Conference edit
All-Conference First Team edit
- Brenda Hatchett, 1992
- Barbara Hickey, 1992
- Uirannah Jackson, 1992
- Travesa Gant, 1994
- Lisa McMahon, 1995
- Lara Webb, 1996 (Unanimous)
All Tournament Team edit
- Lara Webb, 1996
Freshman of the Year edit
- Lisa McMahon, 1995
- Jwanda Roberson, 1998
Coach of the Year edit
- David McKey, 1995
