New Orleans- The second season begins for the University of New Orleans women's basketball team as they step into Southland Conference competition, Wednesday, Jan. 2, at Lakefront Arena when Abilene Christian (7-4) comes to town. Tipoff is set for 7 p. m.
The Privateers (4-5) return to the court for the first time since a Dec. 22 road-loss to Xavier of Ohio, 61-45, drawing the curtain on non-conference play.
"I'm excited about conference play because our scheduling during non-conference has prepared us for conference play," said head coach
Keeshawn Davenport. "What's different about conference is the mindset. Everybody is 0-0 and you have much more on the table that you are working for and everybody knows that."
Leading New Orleans is senior center
Shania Woods who ranks 8
th in the conference in scoring (14.0) and 2
nd in the Southland in rebounding (8.7). The Houston, Texas native has recorded back-to-back triple double performances with 22 points and 13 rebounds against Dillard and 13 points and 11 boards vs. Xavier of Ohio. Woods has three double-doubles this season.
Woods is 2
nd in the league in field goal percentage at .485 thru nine games.
Sophomore point guard
Jada Duncantell is the club's second leading scorer netting 9.4 a contest after leading the Privateers in scoring against Xavier with 17 points. Duncantell, from Natchitoches, Louisiana, has also dished out 2.4 assists a game.
Traya Bruce, a freshman, is the next leading scorer at 8.4 points.
Whitley Larry is 8
th among Southland Conference rebounders with 6.4 an outing and the Rayne, Louisiana junior is leading the conference in blocked shots with 39 for an average of 4.33.
"I feel very confident about our team right now. To come out of non-conference with a 4-5 record I think shows we did a good job of growing after losing so much experience from last year."
After jumping out to a 6-0 mark, Abilene Christian is in the midst of a three-game losing streak after dropping consecutive games to Arkansas, Florida Gulf Coast and Texas Tech.
The Wildcats can boast of balanced scoring with four players in double figures—Dominique Golightly (13.2), Sara Williamson (12.3), Breanna Wright (12.1), Lexie Ducat (11.0).
The last time the Privateers faced Abilene Christian was the first round of the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament, an 88-66 ACU win.
"All of Abilene's players are versatile…they can shoot the three-pointer or they can score inside." Davenport continued, "I am glad that this game is in Lakefront Arena because the last three years this fight has been in Abilene. And I still see the game in Katy (SLC Tournament). That's my motivation, because they knocked us out of postseason last year."
Up Next
The Privateers will hit the road for their second Southland Conference contest when they travel to Houston to face Houston Baptist, Saturday, January 5 at 2 p. m.
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