Privateers Score 35 Points off of Turnovers, Topple Abilene Christian

BOX SCORE (XML) | BOX SCORE (PDF)

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers women's basketball team (6-19, 4-12) got another strong performance from Randi Brown and forced 31 turnovers in a 71-50 win over the Abilene Christian Wildcats (16-11, 8-8) on Saturday at the Lakefront Arena.
 
The Privateers allowed two layups and committed a turnover, which gave the Wildcats a 4-0 lead 32 seconds in. After a quick timeout by Coach Keeshawn Davenport, the Privateers' pressure started to force turnovers which started to propel the Privateers. New Orleans went on a 9-0 spurt to push ahead by six with 14 minutes left in the half, and didn't look back from there.
 
"They were ready and they refused to lose. I just encouraged them coming out the locker room to come out and swing first. It was a great team effort and it's finally coming together. I'm extremely excited and I have a great staff and a great team that's peaking at the right time," said Coach Keeshawn Davenport.
 
The Privateers had 22 of their 39 points in the first half off of turnovers and carried a 10-point lead to the locker room. New Orleans also was efficient from the field to set the tone, going 15-for-30 in the opening 20 minutes of play and hitting 5-of-9 triples.

In the second half, the Privateers opened up with three-pointers on the first two possessions to push the lead to 16. The lead was never smaller than 15 points as the Privateers defeated a Division I opponent by at least 20 points for the first time since 2007.
 
"That was the game plan from the beginning. They're a really solid fundamental team, but they don't handle pressure well. So I wanted to encourage my girls to bring the heat, force the turnovers, and capitalize," said Davenport about the pressure the Privateers brought which led to 35 points off of turnovers for the contest.
 
Brown wound up with her second straight game of 27 points and also contributed seven steals while hitting 9-of-18 shots. Danielle Davis added 14 points and dished out six assists. Davis has 11 assists in the last two games. Octavia Wilson scored 13 of the Privateers' 16 bench points, going 4-for-5 in 14 minutes of action.
 
The Wildcats were led by Whitney West who scored 12 points. Sydney Shelstead posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Suzzy Dimba scored eight points and had six rebounds. The Wildcats won the rebounding battle 37-32.
 
The Privateers will battle Southeastern in the home finale on Thursday at Lakefront Arena. Tip is scheduled for 5:30 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.