NEW ORLEANS - Thanks to a quartet of Privateers in double figures and scoring 40 points-in-the-paint, the University of New Orleans (10-10, 6-3 SLC) ran its winning streak to four with an easy 81-63 win over Northwestern State (6-13, 1-7 SLC) Wednesday night at Lakefront Arena.
Randi Brown, the leading scorer in the Southland Conference, led all scorers with 23 points,
Shania Woods had 21,
Kayla Mundy added 16 and senior
Halie Matthews chipped in with 10. New Orleans shot 52.7% from the field (29-of-55), and notched win number four-in-a-row for the first time since the 2014-15 season, evening their overall record for the first time this season since starting 1-1.
"We really found a way to put the ball in the hole tonight," said head coach
Keeshawn Davenport. "I'm most pleased with the amount of paint-points. 40 points is almost half of our points tonight that came from layups or post-points. So it was a very efficient night. But by no means am I happy with 25 turnovers."
"There are certainly some things we have to clean up but right now we are back at 500 overall, we are 6-3 in conference and we are on a four-game winning streak, so right now things are all right with me," Davenport added.
FIRST QUARTER
New Orleans took the first period 21-11. An 8-0 run within a 2:03 stretch late in the period was the difference. A
Halie Matthews layup, a jumper by Matthews, a layup by
Shania Woods and another layup by Matthews gave the Privateers a 19-9 lead with 1:13 to go in the period. Matthews and
Shania Woods had six points apiece while guard
Kayla Mundy added 5.
SECOND QUARTER
The Privateers stretched the lead to 14 at 45-31 at the break.
Randi Brown, who had only 2 points in the first period, had 11 in the second quarter for a first half total of 13. UNO was 7-of-12 from the field (58.3%) and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
THIRD QUARTER
An 8-2 Privateer run at the start of the second half produced a 20-point, UNO advantage at 53-33 at the 7:41 mark. The Lady Demons drew to within 11, 53-42, when Jada Freeman canned a jumper at the 2:56 mark. New Orleans won the period, 17-15, extending the lead to 16 at 62-46 after three.
FOURTH QUARTER
Two baskets and a freebie by
Shania Woods and a bucket by Mundy at the start of the final stanza gave UNO its largest lead at 23 points, 69-46. The game was never in doubt from that point although Northwestern State did pull to within 13 at 73-60 on a Leah Barnes basket. She led Northwestern State in scoring with 14 point off the bench in only 16 minutes of play. New Orleans cruised the rest of the way to the win.
BY THE NUMBERS
With 21 points and 11 rebounds,
Shania Woods collected her seventh double-double of the season. Her 21-point total was a season and career-high. The Houston, Texas native also had season highs with 4 assists and 2 steals.
In her fourth game back from a broken ankle, senior
Halie Matthews equaled her season-high in minutes with 27. She also had a game-high 4 blocked shots.
Kayla Mundy's 16-point effort gives her double figure scoring in 8 of the last 9 contests. The senior also had a season-high 4 assists.
Randi Brown had a season-high 9 rebounds against Northwestern State. Her 23-point performance pushed her past the 1,900-point mark for her career. She now has 1,920 points as she nears the 2,000-point mark.
The Privateers continue to show why they are the best free throw shooting team in the Southland Conference, hitting 17-of-20 (85.0%). New Orleans leads the SLC in free throw shooting at .765 (302-of-395).
After going 0-of-11 from beyond the 3-points arch against Incarnate Word, New Orleans was 6-of-14 against Northwestern State.
NEXT GAME
New Orleans will return to action Saturday, January 27, in San Antonio, Texas facing UIW for the second time in a week. The Privateers defeated the Cardinals, 52-50 on January 20 at Lakefront Arena. Tip off Saturday is 1 p. m.
Be sure to follow
@UNOPrivateers on Twitter,
@UNOPrivateers on Instagram, like
/UNOPrivateers on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
--www.UNOPrivateers.com--
