NACOGDOCHES, Texas (Interstat) — In a game defined by grit over grace, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks edged the Lamar Lady Cardinals 58-57 in a tense Western Athletic Conference women’s basketball clash on Saturday afternoon at William R. Johnson Coliseum.

The contest was a defensive struggle marked by rampant turnovers and frigid shooting, with both teams posting offensive ratings below 80. Stephen F. Austin improved to 16-8 overall, while Lamar fell to 14-8.

The Ladyjacks ultimately prevailed by leaning on their interior dominance and surviving a relentless Lamar defense that forced 26 turnovers. Stephen F. Austin scored 36 points in the paint, doubling Lamar’s output, and shot 45.8% from the field compared to Lamar’s 29.5%. However, the Lady Cardinals’ pressure kept them in the game, generating 15 steals and converting 24 points off those Ladyjack miscues.

Kaylinn Kemp was the offensive engine for Stephen F. Austin. The guard from Duncanville, Texas, played 30 minutes and scored a game-high 17 points, including several crucial drives to the basket. She added three assists. Myka Perry of Norman, Oklahoma, provided a versatile floor game with eight points, seven rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes.

For Lamar, the backcourt duo of Kamryn Wilson and R’Mani Taylor shouldered the scoring load. Wilson, from Grand Prairie, Texas, led the Lady Cardinals with 14 points in 33 minutes. Taylor, a Houston native, added 12 points. The defensive standout was Chisom Oguego of Lagos, Nigeria, who hauled in 10 rebounds and recorded multiple steals in just 23 minutes of action.

The game’s pivotal sequence unfolded in the final chaotic seconds. Trailing 55-57, Stephen F. Austin called a timeout with 24 seconds remaining. Out of the break, the Ladyjacks worked the ball to Ashlyn Traylor-Walker, whose jump shot missed. After a scramble and a Lamar timeout, the Lady Cardinals’ inbounds pass led to a foul on Stephen F. Austin’s Lydia Cajuste with three seconds left.

Lamar’s Jacei Denley, a Beaumont, Texas, native who finished with 10 points, went to the line for two shots with a chance to extend the lead. She made the first but missed the second. Stephen F. Austin’s Cha Gardner secured the defensive rebound, and the Ladyjacks immediately called their final timeout with three ticks on the clock.

Advancing the ball to the frontcourt, Stephen F. Austin executed a play that found Cajuste open beyond the arc. The pass from Traylor-Walker connected, and Cajuste drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer, silencing the Lamar bench and delivering the dramatic one-point victory for the home team.

The frantic finish capped a game where neither team led by more than nine points. Lamar’s strategy of applying constant pressure nearly paid off, as they overcame a significant shooting disparity by taking 13 more field goal attempts. However, their struggles at the free-throw line, where they shot 15 of 26, proved costly in the narrow defeat.

Stephen F. Austin also benefited from a significant advantage on the glass, outrebounding Lamar 41-33 and limiting the Lady Cardinals to just six second-chance points despite Lamar’s 12 offensive rebounds.

The victory gave Stephen F. Austin a split of the regular-season series after Lamar won the first meeting 73-63 in Beaumont on Jan. 24. Both teams continue WAC play on Thursday, with Stephen F. Austin traveling to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Lamar heading to Texas-Rio Grande Valley.