San Antonio, Texas – Sophomore forward
Shania Woods posted a double-double with a career-best 21 points and a season-high 14 rebounds as the University of New Orleans women's basketball team hung on for a 71-67 Southland Conference win over Incarnate Word on Saturday afternoon in the McDermott Convocation Center.
The Privateers appeared to be in control of the contest with a 54-41 lead at the end of the third quarter, and UNO was up by eight at 61-53 with 5:55 to play in regulation. The Cardinals, however, used a 13-5 run over the next 3:09 to cut the deficit to 66-64. A 3-pointer by junior guard
Randi Brown the next time down the court gave New Orleans a five-point cushion and the defense held Incarnate Word to a 1-for-5 shooting effort over the final 1:14 to hang on for the win.
In victory, UNO snapped a two-game skid to improve to 7-7 on the year and even its Southland slate at 2-2. Incarnate Word, meanwhile, fell to 6-9 overall and 1-3 in league action.
I'm so proud of Shania because she is not feeling well, so I asked her if she could be sick next game," chuckled head coach
Keeshawn Davenport. "We had to score inside and she provided that even after they started to double team her. Shania's work inside opened things for us outside."
Brown led all players with 30 points and was one of three Privateers to finish in double figures offensively as junior guard
Kayla Mundy added 11 to go with Woods' career-high effort. Senior guard
Ariele Davis led the team with four assists while Brown tallied a pair of blocks and redshirt-sophomore guard
Mariah Wright paced the defense with three steals.
As a team, New Orleans hit 48.2 percent of its shots from the field (27-of-56), including a .476 clip from beyond the 3-point arch (10-of-21). The Privateers also used their size inside to hold a 28-16 advantage in points in the paint.
The Cardinals scored the first bucket of the game on a 3-pointer by Melina Merritt, but the Privateers answered with 13 consecutive points to go ahead 13-3 with 2:31 to play in the opening quarter. UNO's first-half lead swelled to as many as 12 at 17-5 just under two minutes later and again at 24-12 with 4:57 to go in the second quarter.
Incarnate Word got to within six on a bucket by Imani Robinson and sandwiched 3-pointers by Celia Garcia Paunero and Alexandra Busby-Leija between a Woods layup to make it 26-20. New Orleans, however, scored five of the period's final seven points to take a 31-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Things continued to go the Privateers way in the third period as UNO saw its lead slip to six at 39-33 only to answer with an 11-2 run to go up by 15 with 2:13 to play in the frame. Once the fourth started, though, the Cardinals gave the home crowd something to get excited about as shots fell and defensive stops brought the fans to their feet.
Clinging to a five-point lead following the aforementioned Brown trey with 1:46 to play, the Privateers let Incarnate Word hang around for a bit by hitting just 1-of-4 free throws late. The Cardinals had a chance to tie the game with a shot from downtown, but Cheyenne Berry's 3-point try was off the mark. Woods hauled in the rebound and was fouled, and connected on 1-of-2 free throws to account for the final score.
Garcia Paunero led three Cardinals in double figures with 23 points while Cassandra Robinson and Berry followed with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Garcia Paunero added 10 rebounds to her point total to complete a double-double, Ramirez had a team-best three steals and Imani Robinson paced the squad with four assists.
"This win is really good because it's been a long trip but we end it on a positive note with a home game and a bye week coming up. We are in a good position in conference and it's an any-given-night situation," said Davenport.
The Privateers will return to action Thursday, Jan. 12, at home against Sam Houston State at 5:30 p. m. The New Orleans men will complete the doubleheader day of basketball when they take on Sam Houston State at 7:45 at Lakefront Arena.
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--
