# 2022–23 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team

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

## 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:

## 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.
| 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.

## Schedule

Sources:
| 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:

## Conference awards and honors
### All conference

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

### 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.

### 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 |
| SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week | Akasha Davis | C | January 2, 2023 |
| SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week | Akasha Davis | C | February 13, 2023 |
| SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week | Portia Adams | G | February 20, 2023 |
| SLC Women's Basketball Player of the Week | Akasha Davis | C | March 2, 2023 |