NEW ORLEANS, La.- The New Orleans Privateers men's and women's basketball teams take to the floor for a regionally broadcast doubleheader against Lamar on Thursday night. Both games will be shown on ESPN3 with the women to tip first at 5:30 p.m, and the men tipping off 30 minutes following the conclusion of that game.
The Privateers women (0-15, 0-4 Southland) are coming off tying a season-low scoring output in a 67-38 loss to Incarnate Word. In the game, New Orleans was held to just 19.3 percent (11-of-57) from the field on the afternoon.
Thursday night's contest will be the 31
st meeting between the two former Sun Belt rivals, and the first since a 2001 meeting on a neutral floor in St. Louis that the Privateers won 83-74 on Nov. 24 2001. In the series the Privateers have won six straight dating back to 1996.
Octavia Wilson comes in ranked second in the Southland in free-throw percentage, making 32-of-37 free throws (86.5%) this season. Against Incarnate Word, she became just the second New Orleans player to attempt at least 10 free throws in a game this season. Her hot free throw shooting has helped her lead the Privateers in scoring as of late, scoring double-digits in three straight games.
Raven Coleman has led the Privateers rebounding effort in the last five games. In that stretch, she has grabbed 36 boards, and has reached double-digit rebounding in two of those contests. She is coming off a 10-rebound effort against Incarnate Word.
Lamar (8-7, 3-1) is coming off a conference weekend sweep at home where they defeated Nicholls St. and McNeese St. The Lady Cardinals have won three straight since dropping their conference opener at Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 2.
The Lady Cardinals are led by junior forward Dominique Edwards who is averaging 16.1 points per game. Edwards was held to single digits for just the second time this season, when she was limited to a season-low seven points last time on the floor against McNeese St.
Senior guard Gia Ayers was named as the Southland Conference Player of the Week for her efforts against Nicholls and McNeese. Ayers scored 35 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and added 13 assists in the Lady Cardinals' two victories over the weekend. The Lady Cardinals point-guard is averaging 13.2 points per game, and leads the Southland in assists at 4.8 per outing.
The Privateers men's team (4-8, 1-3) follows after a split last weekend at Lakefront Arena. After gaining their first Southland win in program history on Thursday against Abilene Christian (87-81) on Thursday, the men fell 78-55 to Incarnate Word on Saturday. The contest will mark the 30th meeting between the two men's programs, with the Privateers holding a 23-6 advantage in the series. The last meeting in the series was a 76-65 victory for UNO at the Humance Performance Center in 2007.
New Orleans was done in by an 18-2 run to close the first half in their loss to UIW, including an over ten-minute scoring drought. The Privateers also committed 25 turnovers on the day.
Cory Dixon continues to lead the way for New Orleans. He is the lone Southland player averaging a double-double in conference play (16.0 points, 12.0 rebounds). Dixon has scored in double figures in 11 of 12 games this season.
Freshman guard,
Nate Frye is coming off a career-best 13-point effort on Saturday. Frye made 5-of-6 shots from the field, and drained all three triples he attempted. Frye's previous high was an 11-point output in the season opener against Millsaps.
Lamar (1-15, 0-4) is looking to snap a 12-game losing streak. Their lone win of the season came at home against Savannah State on Nov. 21 (75-66). The Cardinals have also dropped 12 straight Southland games dating back to Feb. 7, 2013 when they defeated Texas A & M-Corpus Christi 67-63 in Corpus Christi.
The Cardinals are led by junior guard Nimrod Hilliard who paces the team in points (15.6), assists (4.5), minutes (34.9), three-pointers made (26), and steals (25). Hilliard's 15.6 points per game places ranks eighth in the league in scoring per game. Senior forward Amos Wilson follows with 12.3 points per game.
Both games will be available live on ESPN3 with Lyn Rollins and Victor Howell calling the action. The men's game will also be available on WGSO 990 AM and WGSO.com with "Voice of the Privateers" Jude Young starting the broadcast 15 minutes after the conclusion of the women's contest.
How to Follow:
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Women's Coverage |
Men's Coverage |
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Television |
None |
None |
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Radio |
None |
WGSO 990 AM (pbp: Jude Young) |
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Video |
ESPN3 (pbp: Lyn Rollins analysis: Victor Howell) |
ESPN3 (pbp: Lyn Rollins analysis: Victor Howell) |
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Audio |
None |
WGSO.com |
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Stats |
Click here |
Click here |
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Twitter |
@UNOPrivateers |
@UNOPrivateers |
