Privateers Win Teeter Totter Battle Against Nicholls

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers women's basketball team (5-19, 3-12) survived a back-and-forth game that saw 17 lead changes and earned a 68-63 win over the Nicholls Colonels (14-12, 10-5) on Thursday at Lakefront Arena.
 
The Privateers were on the front end of the final lead change after a three by Danielle Davis with 3:00 left made it 62-61. From there, a pair of free throws in the final 37 seconds helped seal the Privateers win. New Orleans also closed down the three-point line down the stretch as the Colonels missed their final seven three-point attempts.
 
"All of these young ladies are adapting to the refuse to lose concept and they really believe it's not over until it's over. It starts with the starters and it's just been solid. Randi has found her comfortable place and knows what she can do," said Head Coach Keeshawn Davenport.
 
The first half featured nine lead changes and three ties along with 10 combined triples. New Orleans came out of the gate strong defensively, not allowing Nicholls to hit a field goal until nearly three minutes into the game when Tia Charles drained a three.
 
The Privateers were trailing by two when Halie Matthews landed awkwardly while going for an offensive board at the 11:41 mark. After falling behind 23-19 though, New Orleans came back with an 8-0 run that was keyed by Randi Brown who had 14 first half points.
 
Yasmin Taylor was also limited to just four minutes of action in the first half due to picking up two early fouls. Raven Coleman came in and provided solid minutes on the interior, collecting six rebounds and scoring eight points to help the Privateers to a 34-32 halftime lead.
 
"I always try to encourage these young ladies to be ready when your number is called and to practice every day like you're going to play 40 minutes. Each of those post players did a great job. I challenged Raven at halftime to end the game with double digit rebounds and she did just that," said Davenport.
 
New Orleans came out of the locker room strong and quickly grew the lead from two to seven with 17:03 left. Nicholls responded with a 9-2 run of their own to tie the game with 14:36 left and neither team led by more than the final margin of the game.
 
Brown wound up with 27 points on 11-of-19 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range. Coleman posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Davis added 12 points and five assists along with five boards. The Privateers out-scored Nicholls 24-9 in points off of turnovers. The Privateers narrowly won the rebounding battle 41-40 on the night.
 
The Colonels got 16 points each from Emani White and Taylor Morrison who combined to account for eight of Nicholls' 12 triples. Tia Charles scored nine points and had three steals. Shay Arnick led the team in rebounds with eight.
 
New Orleans is back at home against Abilene Christian on Saturday. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
To keep up with the latest New Orleans women's basketball news, follow the team on Twitter @UNOPrivateers and @Privateers_WBB or by liking New Orleans Privateers on Facebook.