New Orleans - Fittingly, it was a 3-point jumper at 4:26 of the third quarter that gave senior
Randi Brown exactly 2,000 points for her University of New Orleans career. That shot, three of her 32 on the night, places her in rare company as only the second player in UNO history to reach the 2,000-point mark as the Privateers (12-13, 8-6 SLC) defeated Southeastern Louisiana (6-19, 5-9 SLC), 82-73, Wednesday night at Lakefront Arena.
The senior from Houma, Louisiana joins former UNO great Sandra Hodge (1980-84) in the 2K club. Brown has 2,008 career points, placing her seventh on the all-time Southland Conference scoring list.
"My teammates push me so hard and just keep me going," said Brown. "My teammates and coaches trust me with the ball even when I'm not doing so good so none of this would happen without them. It's really emotional and I'm proud of myself."
Brown also found time to grab 10 rebounds. She was joined in double figures by senior guard
Kayla Mundy with 19 points on 6-of-9 from the field and a perfect night at the free throw line 6-of-6.
Center
Shania Woods recorded her tenth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 boards on the night.
FIRST QUARTER
It was a high-scoring affair ending in a 22-22 tie. The largest SLU lead was three, 7-4 at the 6:21 mark. New Orleans led by 5, twice, 12-7 with 4:58 to go and 18-13 at the 2:20 mark.
Randi Brown had 14 points in the first period.
SECOND QUARTER
The Privateers took the second quarter by three 17-14.
Jada Swafford got things started with the first 5 points of the period for New Orleans on two free throws and a 3-pointer. Southeastern took its last lead of the game at 30-29 on a basket by Taylin Underwood with 6:14 to go. Jumpers by
Kayla Mundy and
Randi Brown stretched the lead to four. A jumper by
Halie Matthews and a free throw by
Shania Woods made it 39-34 UNO. The period closed with New Orleans holding a 39-36 halftime lead. Brown had 19 at the break while SLU had two double digit scorers at the break, Charliee Dugas with 12 and Taylin Underwood with 10.
THIRD QUARTER
An impressive 21-6 run during the third period decided things for the Privateers. Center
Shania Woods scored the first seven points of the period for New Orleans. She finished with 9 in the quarter. The run gave New Orleans its largest lead at 18, 60-42.
Kayla Mundy had seven of her 19 points in the third as UNO took a 12-point, 64-52 advantage into the final stanza.
FOURTH QUARTER
The Lady Lions never really threatened in the final period as the Privateers led by double digits through most of the quarter. SLU would get no closer than 8 at 73-65 with 4:41 to go in the contest. New Orleans had leads of 13 on three occasions during the fourth. Brown and Mundy both had six points in the final quarter as New Orleans went on to win by nine, 82-73.
COACH'S COMMENTS
On Third Period
"In the third period we came out and attacked them with a strong inside presence to compliment what we had going on the outside. The defensive effort in the second half of making them go one-and-done on their shots made a big difference."
On Randi 2-Thousand Points
"Randi knew she was only 24 points away from 2,000 and I knew the night was not going to get away without her getting those points. It's a blessing for me to witness this while I'm coaching. The Lord allows you so many years to coach great players and that's not a feat many college players can say they accomplished. She put in a lot of work to accomplish this, so kudos to her."
On Offensive Balance
"Anytime we get Randi, Kayla and Shania going on the offensive end and get defensive stops, it's going to be tough to beat us because they can't stop one person, they have to pay attention to all of them. So 18, 32 and 19 are great stats for all of them out of the starting five."
KEY NUMBERS
Randi Brown's 10-rebound night was a season high and 12 field goals against Southeastern was also a season-high for the Southland Conference's leading scorer.
The Privateers continue to lead the Southland Conference in free throw shooting. The were 22-of-25 from the line against the Lady Lions…88%.
Kayla Mundy has reached double-figures in 11 of the last 13 contests.
New Orleans is in sixth place in Southland Conference standings through games played February 14.
UP NEXT
New Orleans will host McNeese Saturday, February 17 at Lakefront Arena in a doubleheader. The women's game starts at 2 p. m. while the men's contest starts at 4:15 p. m. It will be Homecoming Weekend.
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