NEW ORLEANS - A balanced scoring effort early and three Privateers reaching career highs in points helped key the New Orleans Privateers (1-0) to a 104-42 victory over the Centenary Ladies in the regular season opener on Tuesday at the Lakefront Arena.
NOTES FROM THE GAME
Five Privateers landed in double figures with
Jada Duncantell leading the way. Duncantell had a career-high 18 points along with seven assists.
Alyssa Quixley (16) and
Whitley Larry (14) also had career bests in points.
Shania Woods added 12 points and
Traya Bruce had a double-double with 10 points, 11 assists in the emphatic win.
Jana Thomas-Reid added eight points and eight rebounds in her Privateer debut.
Dionjhae Thomas posted seven points and a team-high six steals.
Kyla Malone added eight points and five rebounds.
Kayla Thomas scored six points and pulled down five boards in 11 minutes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Privateers opened things up early by shooting 53.8 percent from the field and forcing 13 turnovers in the first quarter. By the time the first 10 minutes ended, New Orleans led by 24 points. The Privateers also controlled the glass with a 14-6 advantage.
New Orleans further grew their lead in the second quarter as they held Centenary to single digits for the quarter. The Privateers clicked in all facets of the game and had three players in double figures by the break. Coach Davenport's bunch also forced 21 Centenary turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Whitley Larry was on the brink of a double-double in the first half alone with 10 points and eight boards.
The second half offered more of the same story. New Orleans outscored Centenary 21-5 in the third quarter on the way to a performance that saw 36 turnovers forced. The winning margin of 62 points tied for the sixth largest in program history.
New Orleans also outpaced Centenary by a 64-10 margin in the paint. The Privateers had a strong scoring effort throughout their lineup with 43 points from the bench. New Orleans also had 54 points off of turnovers.
FROM COACH DAVENPORT
"That's what we wanted to do on our home court. It doesn't matter who we play, we wanted to come out and set the tone. That was our number one defensive goal and I think they did exactly that."
"I challenged them to have 18-plus assists and we finished with 27. They took advantage of what I asked them to do and that's score paint points first. When you have such a size advantage there's no need for us to take many outside shots."
"It's a great confidence builder for Alyssa (Quixley). I think she did a great job and was a spark off the bench for us. I'm proud of her and happy for her."
"Jada (Duncantell) is really coming into her own. I like the way she distributed the ball and allowed her defense to create offense. I think she's playing really confident right now."
UP NEXT
The Privateers will take their first road trip to Pittsburgh to face the Panthers on Friday, Nov. 9. Tip is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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