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KATY, Texas – Once New Orleans found its groove, the pace became sweet music.
A solid defensive effort paved the way for the seventh-seeded Privateers to pull away from sixth-seeded Northwestern State 57-48 in the Southland Conference women's basketball tournament game on Thursday, putting UNO (5-17) into Friday's 1:30 p.m. CT quarterfinal against third-seed Southeastern.
"This team has grown. We're peaking at the right time," said New Orleans head coach
Keeshawn Davenport, who earned her first Southland Conference Tournament win. "The players are playing hard. I am a grateful coach."
Davenport was also grateful for a defense that forced 22 turnovers that resulted into 27 Privateers points. UNO was equally aggressive in limiting NSU (12-14) to just 34.5 percent shooting that included a stifling 15 percent (3-for-20) from three-point range.
After being deadlocked at 13 following a physical first quarter, Northwestern State made its move and held a 20-15 lead after JaMiya Braxton knocked down a trey at the 6:57 mark. It was then that UNO began to shake off its early offensive sluggishness, embarking on a 14-4 run over the next 6:15.
"When we're packing the ball and sharing and playing on the offensive end, it comes easy," said All-Southland Conference third team guard
Jomyra Mathis, who finished with a team-best 17 points.
Tiana Gipson put the finishing touches on the Privateers' spurt, as she followed up a driving layup with a three-pointer that concluded what would be an 11-0 sprint that provided UNO a 29-24 cushion going into intermission.
Neither team shot well, yet it was UNO's 20-14 edge on the glass (nine offensive) that spurred the Privateers to the lead.
The margin would only increase in the early moments of the third quarter. UNO opened with a 9-2 dash that was highlighted by an NBA-range trey from Mathis that extended the lead to 38-26 at the 7:01 mark.
Northwestern State seemingly had no answer to the UNO press during the quarter as the Privateers forced consecutive turnovers that All-SLC Defensive Team member
DeArica Pryor and
Tomyree Thompson turned into baskets that stretched the gap to 45-28 with 4:32 left. At that point, the Privateers had outscored the Lady Demons 16-4 in the third quarter while also forcing five turnovers.
The basket was unkind to the Lady Demons in third. Northwestern State went just 3-for-15 from the field and had a stretch of 4:24 where they were held scoreless.
"Coming out of halftime with the lead and coming out in the third quarter was extremely important against a very aggressive Northwestern State team," said Davenport.
Despite an offensive brownout of its own (UNO went nearly three minutes without scoring), the Privateers did not allow the Lady Demons to put a serious dent into its lead, although NSU's best scoring spurt of the afternoon allowed them to pull closer in the final minute of play.
"We did not win (Thursday), but this is a process," said Northwestern State head coach Anna Nimz. "I believe whole heartly in this group. We didn't play our best basketball."
Still, the Lady Demons were equally aggressive on the defensive side, forcing 25 turnovers.
UNO lost both regular season games to Southeastern, falling at home 72-48 on January 20 before losing a 59-51 overtime decision on the road on February 24.
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