NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers men's and women's basketball teams will have a home crowd for the final time this season against Northwestern State on Saturday at Lakefront Arena. The doubleheader begins with the women's game tipping at 4 p.m.
The Privateers men (11-12, 8-7 Southland) are coming off a 103-63 loss on Thursday night at home against conference-leading Stephen F. Austin. The game also marked the most points New Orleans gave up in a game this season, and the most surrendered since a 114-101 loss to Southern in the 1987-88 season.
Senior
Isaac Mack tied a season-high with 15 points in the loss on Thursday while going 6-for-10 from the field. The six field goals made were the most Mack has drained in a contest this season. Mack sits third on the team in scoring at 9.1 points per game.
Sophomore
Kevin Hill has been a rebounding machine of late for the Privateers, collecting 51 rebounds in the last five games. Hill's 33 minutes against Stephen F. Austin represented his second-highest game time logged this season. Hill has also posted back-to-back double-doubles after going for 13 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday.
This will be the fifth meeting all-time between the Privateers and Demons. New Orleans has taken three of four meetings, with the last a 72-66 Privateers victory in Nov. 2007. This will be the first time the two teams will meet at Lakefront Arena.
Northwestern State (13-13, 9-6) is fresh off an 88-83 win over Southeastern on Thursday night. After a 1-4 start to conference play, the Demons have won seven of their last nine with the only losses coming to Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin.
The Demons are the highest-scoring team in the Southland, scoring 85.7 per game. The Demons' season best scoring output was 111 points in a win over Auburn. However, Northwestern State also gives up the most points per game (84.1) among all Southland schools. The Demons have given up 100 or more points four times this year.
Jalan West and DeQuan Hicks pace the Demons in scoring, and both rank in the top ten in the conference. West checks in with 18.4 points per game and Hicks is averaging 15.1 points per game. West has scored in double figures in 16 straight games.
The Privateers women (0-26, 0-15) are coming off a 68-36 loss to Stephen F. Austin on Thursday while being held to their lowest shooting percentage (18.9) of the year. It was the fifth time this season the Privateers had been held under 40 points in a game. Both teams met last season with Northwestern State taking both decisions. New Orleans is 4-6 all-time against the Lady Demons.
Sophomore
Yasmin Taylor has posted back-to-back games of double digit rebounds after pulling down 10 boards on Thursday. In the last four games, Taylor has collected 36 rebounds and is averaging 6.5 boards per contest.
The Lady Demons (15-12, 8-7) have alternated wins and losses over their last seven contests. The last time Northwestern State won back-to-back games was on Jan. 30 and Feb. 1 against Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian.
Keisha Lee and Trudy Armstead provide the scoring punch for the Lady Demons. Both players average 14.2 points per game. Lee had been held under 10 points in three of her last four before pouring in 21 points on Thursday while making a season-high five three-pointers. Armstead leads the team in rebounds with 6.1 per game.
HD Video of both contests will be available to subscribers of UNO Showcase. The women's broadcast with
Emmanuel Pepis will begin at 4:00 p.m. Radio and Audio coverage of the men's contest will be on WGSO 990 AM, WGSO.com and the TuneIn App wih "Voice of the Privateers" Jude Young calling the action starting 15 minutes following the women's game.
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