Beaumont,Texas – Junior guard
Randi Brown had 15 points and sophomore center
Shania Woods fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards, but it was not enough as the University of New Orleans women's basketball team dropped a 73-42 Southland Conference decision to Lamar on Thursday evening in the Montagne Center.
The Privateers hung tough over the first 20 minutes against the Cardinals and went into the locker room at the break down just three at 32-29. In the second half, however, New Orleans hit just 4-of-25 field goals (.160), including a 1-of-15 showing in the fourth quarter.
In defeat, the Privateers fell to 6-7 overall and 1-2 in Southland play. Lamar, meanwhile, won its eighth-consecutive game to improve to 9-3 on the year and 2-0 in league action.
As a team, UNO shot a season-low 27.1 percent from the field (16-of-59) and committed a season-high 30 turnovers. Lamar turned the Privateer miscues into 26 points, including 15 via fast break, and held a 33-25 advantage in points in the paint.
"We knew they were going to press for 40 minutes. It happened and we did not handle it well," said head coach
Keeshawn Davenport.
Brown and Woods were the only two Privateers to finish in double figures offensively for UNO. Woods added a team-best two blocks, Brown paced the defense with three steals and senior guard
Ariele Davis led the squad with four assists.
The two teams traded the first 20 points of the game and UNO took a 15-12 lead with 4:07 to play in the first quarter. Lamar ended the quarter on a 9-0 run to make it 21-15, but the Privateers opened the second stanza with back-to-back buckets by Woods and junior guard
Kayla Mundy to make it a two-point affair at 23-19.
The Cardinals went ahead by as many as seven in the first half at 30-23 with 1:45 to play before the break, but New Orleans got a layup by junior forward
Halie Matthews and sandwiched a pair of Brown baskets around two free throws by Lamar's Khali Pippins-Tyron to close out the half.
Taking the court to start the third quarter down by three, New Orleans got to within two at 35-33 just over a minute into the period. Lamar's defense, however, held UNO to just two field goals the rest of the frame and outscored the Privateers 17-7 during that stretch to take a commanding 52-40 lead.
That trend continued into the fourth quarter as New Orleans went without a bucket until Mundy's jumper at the 5:17 mark, and by that time the Privateers trailed 61-42. That would be UNO's final points of the contest as Lamar outscored the team 12-0 the rest of the way to account for the final score.
Ashlan Miles led four Lamar players in double figures with a game-high 19 points, followed by Moe Kinard with 16 and the duo of Kiandra Bowers and Kiara Desamours with 10 each. Bowers posted the game's lone double-double with 14 rebounds, and she, Desamours and Kinard shared team-high steal honors with three apiece. Chastadie Barrs led all players with nine assists and joined Briana Laidler in the blocks lead with two each.
"We are going to have a short memory and act like this didn't happen." Davenport added, "We have less than 48 hours to get ready for the last game of our NBA-like schedule in Texas.
The Privateers return to action Saturday, Jan. 7, in San Antonio against Incarnate Word. Tipoff is set for 1 p. m. The next New Orleans home game is Thursday, Jan. 12 when Sam Houston State comes to Lakefront Arena for a 5:30 p. m. start. It's the first game of a doubleheader preceding the New Orleans men versus the men of Sam Houston at 7:45 p. m.
For tickets to those games and other Privateer Athletics events, contact the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263) or via the Internet by clicking
HERE.
--www.UNOPrivateers.com--
