UNO-DSU Box Score
CLEVELAND, Miss. – The University of New Orleans women's basketball team put a scare into NCAA Division II perennial power Delta State before falling 80-52 at Sillers Arena on Thursday night.
UNO (0-25) rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first half to get within two of DSU (19-5) at halftime.
The Lady Statesmen made a statement in the second half however, outscoring their guests 48-22 after the break to give head coach Sandra Rushing her 400
th career win.
NCAA Division II Preseason Player of the Year candidate Veronica Walker scored 11 points in the first half on way to a game-high 25. Walker shot 11 of 15 from the field, a significant improvement from her 40 percent clip against the Lady Privateers in the first meeting last month – one of her season low performances.
Mechel'le Thomas made a game of it for UNO, scoring a career-high 22 points. The guard eclipsed her previous best of 19 points from a road contest at Spring Hill earlier this season and had notched 15 points in the first half.
DSU was riddled by 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of the contest.
Following a brief 2-0 UNO lead, the Lady Statesmen went on a 16-2 run to take an 18-4 lead at the 11:50 mark. Thomas scored five during a 7-0 run for the Lady Privateers to get within seven at 18-11.
The momentum remained on UNO's side with Thomas hitting a three-pointer at the first half buzzer to get within two at
32-30.
When the second half began, the Lady Privateers held their own for the first few minutes before DSU made their move. A pair of Thomas free throws pulled UNO within three at 39-36 before the Lady Statesmen responded with eight straight to move their advantage back to double-figures.
The Lady Privateers cut the deficit back to single digits on multiple occasions, but never found a way to duplicate their run of the first half. UNO's last single-digit deficit came on a
Mirjam Sipos lay-up with 11:58 remaining in the contest.
DSU's advantage topped 20 points for the first time with 5:43 to go and grew to a high of 28 before the final buzzer.
The 2011-12 season concludes for the Lady Privateers on Monday at 6 p.m. against Southern-New Orleans. The contest will take place at The Castle.
