NEW ORLEANS – Despite the 2019-20 season getting cut short, New Orleans women's basketball set a new standard under head coach
Keeshawn Davenport and her staff of
Wyketha Harrell,
Alpha English,
Kristin Moore and
Kendall Shaw. The Privateers clinched a Southland Conference Tournament berth for the fourth consecutive season.
And while it is natural to remember how the season came to a close due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, it is just as important to remember the journey the Privateers went on this season that will go down as one of the best in school history.
The Privateers won 13 league games this year, the most conference wins by the program in a single-season.
And the path they took to get to that point is one that is going to be remembered for years to come.
"What a season to recap," Davenport said. "I'm extremely grateful for this team, my staff, the support staff and the hard work that everyone put into this season. As I reflect on this season, as with any year, we had some highs and some lows, but this team no doubt will be a team that is remembered for a very long time."
For starters, New Orleans scheduled one of the hardest non-conference schedules in recent memory with bouts versus LSU, Ole Miss, Louisiana, Texas State, Iowa State and nationally-ranked Arkansas. The team took on three Southeastern Conference (SEC) programs in their first four games. Certainly, it would be understandable if they got swept by their Power-Five counterparts.
But the Privateers had different plans.
After playing two strong games at LSU and Arkansas that were much closer than the final scores indicated, the Privateers headed home and got a home opening win over Pensacola Christian.
The victory was a special day on the Lakefront as the Privateers held their Inaugural Elementary Day for local students in the Greater New Orleans area. Behind one of the best overall team efforts in program history, the Privateers cruised to a victory with 921 fans in attendance, breaking a women's basketball attendance record that stood since March 5, 1988.
READ: Women's Basketball Cruises to 91-31 Victory on Education Day; Sets Lakefront Arena Attendance Record
New Orleans then hit the road to Oxford to take on the Lady Rebels.
Ole Miss was favored in the game and the Privateers hadn't taken down a SEC team since a home victory against Florida on Feb. 13, 1995.
But they held the Rebels to just two points in the opening quarter, and suddenly this wasn't an upset opportunity anymore. It was a chance to close out a SEC opponent in their home building.
The Privateers took a 50-39 advantage as they went into the final frame. They withstood a late Ole Miss rally to clinch the win 69-64 behind strong performances from
Asia Woods (career-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go with nine rebounds, three steals and a block) and
Rehema Franklin (recorded a double-double with 14 points and a career-high in both rebounds, 11, and assists, 7).
Vaquela Pimpton also added 13 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
During the contest, the team forced 23 turnovers and led Ole Miss wire-to-wire.
Coming into the evening, New Orleans was just 11-40 against SEC programs with the majority of those wins coming in the early 1990's.
"This team beat a SEC program which hadn't been done by a Privateer team or a Southland Conference team is a very long time," Davenport said. "And they did it with poise and composure on the road."
READ: Women's Basketball Upsets Ole Miss, 69-64
After the Ole Miss win, the Privateers dropped contests to Texas State and Iowa State before ending their traditional non-conference schedule with a win over Tougaloo. All focus was shifted to that of the Southland Conference and the learning experience that was gained through the non-conference slate.
Just like its non-conference schedule, New Orleans faced a tough task to open league play as they took on the squads that finished No. 2 (Abilene Christian) and No. 4 (Sam Houston State) in the conference this season. After beginning SLC play 0-2, the Privateers picked up a home win in their final non-conference game over visiting North Dakota to close out 2019.
The change of the calendar got the team on track as the team went on to rip off six wins in a row, including five straight against Southland opponents.
One of the wins included a
Whitley Larry buzzer-beating three as the senior forward beat the clock to knock off then No. 1 team Stephen F. Austin, in a walk-off victory at the Lakefront Arena.
From February 1 through the end of the season, the Privateers went 7-4 in conference play with wins in their final two games, including Senior Day against Southeastern.
READ: Women's Basketball Sends Seniors Off on a High Note with Victory over Southeastern
The team was ready to head into the Southland Championships as the No. 5 team with marks of 17-12 overall and 13-7 in conference. The Privateers went 11-3 at the Lakefront Arena as they took full advantage of Privateer Nation cheering them on.
"This team won 17 games this year, the most games won since the 1992-93 season," Davenport said. "They added 13 conference games, something that has never been done by the women's basketball program throughout their history."
"The Privateers also claimed 11 games at home this year," Davenport added. "We're so grateful for Privateer Nation and the home court advantage we had this season."
And with that, the team will go down as having one of the best seasons ever recorded by the Privateers.
"And it should be noted that the Privateers had not just one of the better seasons in the Southland but in the entire state of Louisiana," Davenport said when reflecting on the year. "This team was one of the top-three in the state of Louisiana, a goal that we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the season. This team represented #NOLAsTeam with the best NCAA Division I record in the city of New Orleans."
"What can I say about this team other than they accomplished a lot," she stated. "They set out with the affirmation of I can, I will, I must and they certainly did."
This is where this story of a season takes a dramatic turn.
As the group was poised to start their run in the conference tournament, they took to the court at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas for a No. 5 vs. No. 8 (Southeastern) matchup. The world had other plans.
With the student-athlete's health as the top priority, the Southland Conference had followed suit with the rest of the nation and made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Hercules Tires Southland Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships.
The Privateers went through player introductions as the game was just seconds from tip before the contest was delayed. After institutional leaders and Southland executive staff consulted on the matter, it was determined it would be in the best interest of all involved to cancel the remainder of the tournament.
The NCAA would follow with canceling the reminder of winter and spring championships, as the Southland followed suit for spring sports shortly thereafter.
"It was not the expected ending but definitely the beginning of a new culture for this women's basketball program," Davenport concluded. "We're not going to focus anymore on how it ended because for every ending there's a new beginning. We're going to focus on that new beginning. We have unfinished business.
After the conclusion of the season, seniors Franklin and Woods were selected to the All-Southland Third Team.
Franklin exploded on the scene, leading the Privateer scoring attack all year long. She recorded 14.1 points per game, the sixth-best mark in the conference. She was one of just six Southland athletes to break the 14-point plateau and reached double figures 19 times, surpassing the 20-point margin nine times. Her 33 points in a win against North Dakota on Dec. 28, 2019 ranked for the third-best (tie) scoring performance by a Southland student-athlete this seasons.
The New Orleans native was eighth in the conference in steals per game (1.9), 14th in free throw percentage (.750) and 20th in field goal percentage (.413). Franklin also hit 51 three-pointers on the year (ninth in the Southland) and 81 free throws (11th).
Woods was one of the best all-around forwards in the Southland this season.
The Houston native ranked fourth in the conference in rebounding at 7.7 boards per game. She also contributed 11.5 points per contest, the 17th-best mark in the Southland, and shot 47.9 percent, good for seventh.
The New Orleans athletic department and the Privateer women's basketball program would like to thank the contributions from its senior class of Rehema Franklin, Vaquela Pimpton, Kayla Thomas, Asia Woods, Whitley Larry, Kyla Malone and Annalise Brisco, who will all be graduating from New Orleans after the conclusion of their playing careers.
