UNO-LSU Box Score
Clay Named College Sports Madness Independent Player of the Week
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU opened the second half on a 14-1 run to overcome a strong first half performance by New Orleans in an 87-61 victory on Monday afternoon at the Maravich Assembly Center.
Leading by three at the half, LSU (9-4) made 7 of 9 shots from the field during their 14-1 spurt. The Lady Tigers shot 64.5 percent from the field on 20 of 31 shooting after the break to outscore UNO (1-13) 49-26 in the second half.
Theresa Plaisance led LSU with 25 points in the game and notched a double-double by pulling down 11 rebounds. Danielle Ballard added 20 for the hosts.
Keri Thomas was the top scorer for the Lady Privateers in the contest with 21 points.
Mirjam Sipos and
Mechel'le Thomas scored 12 points apiece.
Keri scored 13 points in the first half as the Lady Privateers shot 61.9 percent on 13 of 21 shooting during the opening 20 minutes. Sipos added 11 prior to the intermission.
With Keri and Sipos producing offensively, UNO had the advantage early, making 4 of 5 shots from the field at on the onset of the contest.
Three of the team's four early baskets came from beyond the arc, including a pair of Sipos three-pointers that put the Lady Privateers ahead 11-8 with 16:41 remaining in the first half.
A third Sipos three-pointer with 14:24 remaining provided UNO with a four-point advantage at 14-10.
The Lady Privateers and LSU would exchange leads 10 times in the opening half with the Lady Tigers finally emerging by scoring eight straight points to erase a 26-24 deficit. LSU entered the half with a 38-35 lead.
In the second half, UNO missed its first four shots and racked up three turnovers before
Amber Clay connected on the Lady Privateers' first field goal of the half with 15:33 remaining.
By the time Clay had scored, LSU's advantage had reached double-digits for the first time and the Lady Tigers were ahead 52-38. The hosts lead reached a high of 28 points with 4:20 remaining.
Trailing 79-52 with six minutes remaining, UNO outscored LSU 9-8 through the final buzzer.
The Lady Privateers will play their next two games within the friendly confines of Lakefront Arena, beginning on Saturday, Jan. 5 against Southern Miss at 12 p.m. Houston Baptist follows a week later on Jan. 12 with a 2 p.m. tip time.
NOTES
UNO made six three-pointers in the first half – matching the team's total over the previous three games combined. On the season, only an effort featuring eight three-pointers against Nicholls State (Nov. 13) surpassed the Lady Privateers' six first half three-pointers.
As a team, UNO made nine three-pointers in 25 attempts. The team's nine three-pointers were the most for the Lady Privateers since burying 10 three-pointers at Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 13, 2008.
Keri Thomas eclipsed the 20-point plateau for just the second time this season and the first time since scoring 23 points against Arkansas-Monticello on Nov. 20. Last season, the guard topped 20 points three times, including a career-high 30 points against Mobile (Feb. 13, 2012).
Prior to the contest, UNO junior forward
Amber Clay was named 'Independent Player of the Week' by College Sports Madness. Clay received the recognition after scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Lady Privateers' game against UAPB last Friday at Lakefront Arena.
UNO head coach Keeshawn Carter can now claim that she has competed as both a Division I head coach and student-athlete at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Carter was a student-athlete on the Lady Privateer team that played at the PMAC on Jan. 25, 2000 before coaching in Monday's contest.
