2022–23 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team

2022–23 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball
2022–23 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	20–12 (12–6 SLC)
Head coach	Aqua Franklin (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Bianca Smith (2nd season); Raymond Patche (1st season); Omar Sneed (1st season);
Home arena	Montagne Center; (Capacity: 10,080)
	Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 →

For information on all Lamar University sports, see Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals

2022–23 Southland Conference women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Southeastern Louisiana †	14	–	4	.778	21	–	10	.677
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	14	–	4	.778	19	–	12	.613
Lamar	12	–	6	.667	20	–	12	.625
Incarnate Word	10	–	8	.556	15	–	14	.517
Texas A&M–Commerce*	10	–	8	.556	14	–	19	.424
McNeese	8	–	10	.444	12	–	19	.387
New Orleans	7	–	11	.389	8	–	20	.286
Northwestern State	7	–	11	.389	11	–	18	.379
Houston Christian	6	–	12	.333	11	–	18	.379
Nicholls	2	–	16	.111	5	–	24	.172
* ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition period

† 2023 Southland tournament winner As of March 18, 2023

The 2022–23 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Cardinals, led by fourth year head coach Aqua Franklin, played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. The Lady Cardinals finished the 2022–23 season with an overall record of 20–12 and 12–6 in conference play.^[1] After defeating McNeese in the second round and Texas A&M–Corpus Christi in the semi–final round of the 2023 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament, Lamar's season ended losing to Southeastern Louisiana in tournament championship game. Lamar entered the tournament as third seed.^[2]

The Lady Cardinals returned to the Southland Conference following one year as members of the Western Athletic Conference. Lamar was one of four schools, all from Texas, that left the Southland Conference in July 2021 to join the WAC.^[3]

Previous season

The Lady Cardinals finished the 2021–22 season with an overall record of 14–15 and 8–10 in conference play. After defeating New Mexico State in the opening round of the 2022 WAC women's basketball tournament, their season ended losing to Sam Houston State in a first round game. Lamar entered the tournament as seventh seed.

Offseason

Incoming transfers

Lamar Incoming Transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Anaya Bernard	33	G	5'10"	Junior	Mansfield, TX	Idaho State
Telishia Brown	RS	G	5'6"	Freshman (RS)		Legacy School of Sport Sciences / Blinn Junior College

Incoming recruits

Lamar Incoming Recruits
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Alyiah Craft	2	G	5'6"	Freshman	Huntsville, TX	Huntsville HS
R'Mani Taylor	30	G	5'6"	Freshman	Houston, TX	Shadow Creek HS

Source:^[4]^[5]

Preseason polls

Southland Conference Poll

The Southland Conference released its preseason poll on October 25, 2022. Receiving 103 overall votes, the Lady Cardinals were picked to finish fourth in the conference.^[6]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	148 (11)
2	Houston Christian	131 (5)
3	Southeastern	122 (3)
4	Lamar	103
5	Texas A&M–Commerce Lions	101 (1)
6	McNeese	98
7	Incarnate Word	64
8	Northwestern State	61
9	New Orleans	47
10	Nicholls	25

Preseason All Conference

Akasha Davis was selected to the Preseason All Conference second team.^[7]

Roster

2022–23 Lamar Lady Cardinals women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	2	Alyiah Craft	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Fr	Wagner HS	Huntsville, TX
G	3	Sabria Dean	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Jr	Mineola HS	Mineola, TX
G	4	Brooklyn Mitchell	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Sr	Ursuline Academy Kansas	New Orleans, LA
G	10	Malay McQueen	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Sr	Bowie HS	Arlington, TX
G	11	Portia Adams	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	So	Cedar Hill HS	Cedar Hill, TX
F	13	Taliah Hill	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	So	Martin HS	Arlington, TX
F	14	Emma Imevbore	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	So	King Henry London Thunder U18	London, England
F	22	NJ Weems	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Jr	DeLaSalle HS/Moberly Area CC	Minneapolis, MN
C	25	Bebe Galloway	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Jr	Ball HS	Galveston, TX
C	30	R'Mani Taylor	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Fr	Shadow Creek HS	Houston, TX
G/F	33	Anaya Bernard	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	So	Duncanville HS/Idaho State	Mansfield, TX
F/C	41	Akasha Davis	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	So	Wylie East HS	Dallas, TX

Head coach

Aqua Franklin (Texas A&M)

Assistant coach(es)

Bianca Smith (Colorado)
Raymond Patche (Arizona State)
Omar Sneed (San Jacinto/Memphis)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 21, 2022

Schedule

Sources:^[8]^[9]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 5, 2022* 1:00 pm		East Texas Baptist	W 69–43		29 – Adams	9 – Davis	4 – Tied	Montagne Center Beaumont, TX
Non-Conference season
November 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Baylor	L 50–88	0–1	13 – Davis	8 – Davis	3 – Tied	Ferrell Center (4,032) Waco, TX
November 11, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Jarvis Christian	W 78–55	1–1	25 – Dean	8 – Craft	5 – Tied	Montagne Center (804) Beaumont, TX
November 16, 2022* 5:30 pm		at Prairie View A&M	W 66–63 ^OT	2–1	25 – Dean	15 – Imevbore	5 – McQueen	William J. Nicks Building (224) Prairie View, TX
November 25, 2022* 5:00 pm		vs. Mississippi Valley State Southern Mississippi Thanksgiving Tournament	W 85–49	3–1	17 – Imevbore	11 – Imevbore	8 – Adams	Reed Green Coliseum (838) Hattiesburg, MS
November 26, 2022* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Miss Southern Mississippi Thanksgiving Tournament	L 48–56	3–2	12 – Adams	7 – Davis	3 – Tied	Reed Green Coliseum (829) Hattiesburg, MS
December 3, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		UT Arlington	L 56–60	3–3	20 – Dean	10 – Imevbore	3 – Tied	Montagne Center (1,091) Beaumont, TX
December 6, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Loyola (New Orleans)	W 76–63	4–3	24 – Adams	8 – Davis	7 – Dean	Montagne Center (587) Beaumont, TX
December 8, 2022* 7:00 pm, SECN		at No. 21 Arkansas	L 50–63	4–4	12 – Adams	7 – Tied	5 – Taylor	Bud Walton Arena (2,268) Fayetteville, AR
December 14, 2022* 7:00 pm, SECN		at No. 11 LSU	L 42–88	4–5	15 – Dean	8 – Adams	0 – No assists recorded	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (5,654) Baton Rouge, LA
December 17, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Louisiana	W 65–50	5–5	18 – Davis	6 – Tied	6 – Adams	Montagne Center (901) Beaumont, TX
December 21, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Texas A&M University–Texarkana	W 60–51	6–5	25 – Davis	11 – Davis	5 – Tied	Montagne Center (804) Beaumont, TX
Southland Conference season
December 31, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+		McNeese Battle of the Border (Rivalry)	W 82–61	7–5 (1–0)	20 – Dean	7 – Davis	5 – Adams	Montagne Center (1,103) Beaumont, TX
January 5, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at New Orleans	L 46–60	7–6 (1–1)	14 – Tied	5 – Tied	4 – Adams	Lakefront Arena New Orleans, LA
January 7, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southeastern Louisiana	W 57–47	8–6 (2–1)	14 – Tied	9 – Davis	4 – Dean	University Center (248) Hammond, LA
January 12, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Nicholls	L 74–80 ^OT	8–7 (2–2)	26 – Dean	11 – Imevbore	6 – Weems	Montagne Center (1,127) Beaumont, TX
January 14, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Commerce	L 52–57	8–8 (2–3)	18 – Dean	7 – Imevbore	2 – Tied	Texas A&M–Commerce Field House Commerce, TX
January 19, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	L 59–61	8–9 (2–4)	17 – Adams	8 – Davis	5 – Dean	Montagne Center (1,023) Beaumont, TX
January 21, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+		Incarnate Word	W 72–52	9–9 (3–4)	26 – Davis	8 – Tied	6 – Tied	Montagne Center (1,243) Beaumont, TX
January 26, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Texas A&M–Commerce	W 66–49	10–9 (4–4)	16 – Dean	9 – Adams	7 – Adams	Montagne Center (1,313) Beaumont, TX
January 28, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northwestern State	L 52–54	10–10 (4–5)	15 – Davis	11 – Davis	2 – Tied	Prather Coliseum (891) Natchitoches, LA
February 2, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at McNeese Battle of the Border (Rivalry)	W 79–48	11–10 (5–5)	20 – Davis	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	The Legacy Center (1,584) Lake Charles, LA0
February 4, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+		Northwestern State	W 75–57	12–10 (6–5)	20 – Davis	14 – Davis	7 – Dean	Montagne Center (1,206) Beaumont, TX
February 9, 2023 5:30 pm, ESPN+		at Incarnate Word	W 74–67	13–10 (7–5)	23 – Davis	12 – Davis	3 – Tied	McDermott Center San Antonio, TX
February 11, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 73–68	14–10 (8–5)	17 – Tied	10 – Davis	5 – Dean	American Bank Center (1,266) Corpus Christi, TX
February 16, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Houston Christian	W 71–63	15–10 (9–5)	32 – Adams	10 – Imevbore	4 – Taylor	Montagne Center (1,169) Beaumont, TX
February 18, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Houston Christian	W 55–53	16–10 (10–5)	16 – Davis	14 – Davis	3 – Taylor	Sharp Gym (420) Houston, TX
February 23, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 66–54	17–10 (11–5)	22 – Davis	16 – Davis	3 – Tied	Montagne Center (1,421) Beaumont, TX
February 25, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+		New Orleans	L 61–62	17–11 (11–6)	21 – Adams	7 – Tied	5 – Adams	Montagne Center (1,458) Beaumont, TX
March 1, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Nicholls	W 70–57	18–11 (12–6)	21 – Tied	17 – Davis	4 – Dean	Stopher Gymnasium (344) Thibodaux, LA
2023 Jersey Mike's Subs Southland Conference Tournament
March 7, 2023 1:30 pm, ESPN+	(3)	at (6) McNeese Second round	W 80–75 ^OT	19–11	25 – Davis	14 – Davis	4 – Tied	The Legacy Center (453) Lake Charles, LA
March 8, 2023 1:30 pm, ESPN+	(3)	vs. (2) Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Semi-finals	W 65–53	20–11	17 – Tied	17 – Davis	4 – Taylor	The Legacy Center Lake Charles, LA
March 9, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPNU	(3)	vs. (1) Southeastern Louisiana Championship	L 57–66	20–12	20 – Adams	13 – Davis	3 – Tied	The Legacy Center (606) Lake Charles, LA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source:^[10]

Conference awards and honors

All conference

Akasha Davis was named as a first team member of the 2022-23 Southland Conference All conference team.^[11]

All-Academic team

Akasha Davis was named as the Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year. She was also named as a first team member of the All-Academic first team. Sabria Dean was named as a member of the Southland Conference All-Academic second team.^[12]

Weekly awards

Akasha Davis and Portia Adams were both named as player of the week during the season. Davis garnered the honor three times. Adams was named one time.

Weekly honors
Honors	Player	Position	Date Awarded	Ref.
SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week	Akasha Davis	C	January 2, 2023	^[13]
SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week	Akasha Davis	C	February 13, 2023	^[14]
SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week	Portia Adams	G	February 20, 2023	^[15]
SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week	Akasha Davis	C	March 2, 2023	^[16]

References

^ "Lamar Cardinals Schedule 2022-23". ESPN Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ James Hill (March 9, 2023). "Top-Seeded Southeastern Roar Back in Second Half to Claim First-Ever Southland Basketball Championship". Southland Conference. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ "WAC Announces Expedited Entrance for Four Texas Institutions" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 21, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
^ James Dixon (April 23, 2021). "Women's Hoops Adds Weems for 2021-22". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
^ Will McFarland (July 1, 2021). "Mitchell Set to Join Cards for 2021-22". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
^ "Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tabbed as favorites in 2022-23 Southland Women's Basketball poll". Southland Conference. October 25, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^ "Southland Announces 2022-23 Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams". Southland Conference. October 25, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
^ "Lamar Lady Cardinals Schedule - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics.
^ "A&M-Corpus Christi's Westbrook is Player of the Year, Southeastern's Guzzardo wins Coach of the Year as All-Southland Conference Women's Basketball Teams and special honors announced". Southland Conference. March 3, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ "Davis of Lamar wins Southland Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year award, All-Academic teams revealed". Southland Conference. March 31, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ "Lamar's Akasha Davis takes opening Southland Women's Basketball Player of the Week of 2023". January 2, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ "Lamar's Akasha Davis picks up Southland Women's Basketball Player of the Week with pair of double-doubles". February 13, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ "Portia Adams of Lamar wins Southland Women's Basketball Player of the Week". February 20, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ "Lamar's Akasha Davis picks up final 2022-23 Southland Women's Basketball Player of the Week honor". March 2, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

[1] "Lamar Cardinals Schedule 2022-23". ESPN Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

[2] James Hill (March 9, 2023). "Top-Seeded Southeastern Roar Back in Second Half to Claim First-Ever Southland Basketball Championship". Southland Conference. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

[3] "WAC Announces Expedited Entrance for Four Texas Institutions" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 21, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.

[4] James Dixon (April 23, 2021). "Women's Hoops Adds Weems for 2021-22". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved October 18, 2021.

[5] Will McFarland (July 1, 2021). "Mitchell Set to Join Cards for 2021-22". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved October 18, 2021.

[6] "Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tabbed as favorites in 2022-23 Southland Women's Basketball poll". Southland Conference. October 25, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.

[7] "Southland Announces 2022-23 Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams". Southland Conference. October 25, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.

[8] "2022-23 Women's Basketball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved November 16, 2022.

[9] "Lamar Lady Cardinals Schedule - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved November 16, 2022.

[10] "2022-23 Women's Basketball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics.

[11] "A&M-Corpus Christi's Westbrook is Player of the Year, Southeastern's Guzzardo wins Coach of the Year as All-Southland Conference Women's Basketball Teams and special honors announced". Southland Conference. March 3, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

[12] "Davis of Lamar wins Southland Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year award, All-Academic teams revealed". Southland Conference. March 31, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

[13] "Lamar's Akasha Davis takes opening Southland Women's Basketball Player of the Week of 2023". January 2, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

[14] "Lamar's Akasha Davis picks up Southland Women's Basketball Player of the Week with pair of double-doubles". February 13, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

[15] "Portia Adams of Lamar wins Southland Women's Basketball Player of the Week". February 20, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

[16] "Lamar's Akasha Davis picks up final 2022-23 Southland Women's Basketball Player of the Week honor". March 2, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.

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