Nacogdoches, Texas- The University of New Orleans women's basketball team will try to make it two straight road wins when they travel to Nacogdoches, Texas to face the Ladyjacks of Stephen F. Austin, Saturday, Jan. 28 at Johnson Coliseum. Tipoff is 3:30 p. m.
The Privateers (10-8,5-3) picked up their fourth road win of the season with a 71-59 victory over Mc Neese State in their last outing. While Stephen F. Austin, the current conference standings leader, fell to Central Arkansas the last time out, 67-63.
"It's always good to face the top team in the conference," said head coach
Keeshawn Davenport. "But I think the fact that Central Arkansas beat them is a testament to our conference and how balanced it is. Anyone can beat anyone on a given night."
New Orleans will rely on the leading scorer in the Southland Conference in junior
Randi Brown. The Houma, Louisiana native averages 21.6 points a game and had 29 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal in the win at McNeese. In 8 conference games she is scoring at a 24-point clip.
Brown leads the conference in points scored with 388 on the season. Her 29-point performance against McNeese moved her up the all-time scoring list at UNO moving her past Sandy Lucht (1982-86) and Carmen Reed (1984-85) into 7
th place. Brown has 1,199 points in her career.
Shania Woods, a sophomore, recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds against McNeese. Woods averages 9.5 points a game and is the sixth leading rebounder in the SLC at 7.6 rebounds an outing. She is among the leaders in the conference in field goal percentage hitting 72-of-135 shots for 53 percent.
The Privateers average 69.9 points a contest, 31 of those points come courtesy of non-starters. The leaders of that group are
Kayla Mundy and
Jewel Angelo. Mundy (6.1) has exceeded double figures in four of the last five games, including her 11-point performance versus Mc Neese. Angelo, a senior, averages 5.9 a game and had a season-high 17 points against Texas back in December.
"Our motto this year is "One Team, One Dream" and our bench scoring really drives home that team aspect we've pushed since the spring," said Davenport. "And what I like about it is that it's been different people and they all have the opportunity to impact the game with their own strengths."
The Privateers continue to lead in 3- point field goal percentage at .351 and
Randi Brown is tops in the SLC in 3 pointers made per game at 3.1.
Stephen F. Austin (15-3,6-1) is tied for the Southland Conference lead with Abilene Christian. The Ladyjacks had their 14 game win streak snapped in the loss to Central Arkansas. SFA is ranked number one in the Southland Conference in scoring offense at 75.0 points a contest and 79 a game in conference play.
Taylor Ross, a First Team All-SLC selection in 2016, leads the Ladyjacks in scoring hitting 17.7 a game. Brentney Branch follows with 14.4 and Stevi Parker averages 11.1 points a game while grabbing 7.7 rebounds, good enough for sixth in the SLC.
"It's important that we keep them under their averages. 79 a game in conference, 6 thee pointers, they get to the line about 16 times a game. We've got to keep them under their averages," says Davenport.
New Orleans is holding teams to 61 points a game in Southland Conference matches.
The all-time series is tied at 3-3. The last time UNO and SFA met on the basketball court was Jan. 14 of last year when a buzzer- beater by
Randi Brown gave the Privateers a 58-57 win.
The game can be seen on ESPN3 and WatchESPN app.
The Privateers return to Lakefront Arena Thursday, Feb.2, when they entertain the Lamar Cardinals. Tipoff is 7 p. m.
For tickets to all Privateer Athletics events, contact the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263) or via the Internet by clicking
HERE.
--www.UNOPrivateers.com--
