NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Privateers women's basketball team battled valiantly and led at halftime but a third quarter run by the UIW Cardinals jolted them to a 64-54 decision over the Privateers on Saturday afternoon at the Lakefront Arena.
New Orleans went to the half ahead 27-26 at the half as they closed down the three-point line and held the Cardinals under 40 percent from the field for the opening 20 minutes of play.Â
Early in the third quarter though, UIW went on a 19-4 run that pushed them in front by double digits at 45-31. The Privateers spent the rest of the game trying to play catch up and their relentless defense cut the Cardinals lead back down to five late in the third quarter.
UIW withstood the rally though and scored four crucial points in the final minutes of the quarter to head to the fourth ahead by nine. UIW held the Privateers scoreless for the first three minutes of the fourth while they slowly extended their lead to 14 in that span. New Orleans could get no closer than nine for the remaining seven minutes of the game.
New Orleans shut down the Cardinals at the three-point line as UIW was only 3-of-21 from long range. However, the Cardinals won the battle on the boards 42-35 and had five more points at the free throw line than the Privateers on the game. It was the third time in nine meetings that UIW scored a victory at the Lakefront Arena.
INSIDE THE BOX
Nora Francois scored 15 points to lead all Privateers on the day and added 11 rebounds for her second double-double as a Privateer.
Jayla Kimbrough finished with 12 points and five boards.Â
Destiny Terrell led all Cardinals with 17 points. Aliyah Collins scored 14 points and Nina De Leon Negron had six assists.
NEXT UP
The Privateers will head to Natchitoches to face Northwestern State on Thursday, Feb. 8.
WE ARE YOUR KREWE
For 54 seasons, Privateer student-athletes have had the unique experience of wearing New Orleans across their chests. Like the city itself, our sports teams have been fueled by resiliency, grit, and the unquenchable desire to win. Our city also houses the nation's biggest celebration each year. And much like a Mardi Gras parade krewe, we are tethered to our community through pride, tradition, a culture of acceptance, and finally our commitment to show that New Orleans is a world-class city to live, learn, play and work. We invite you to become more involved with the only University that truly represents New Orleans all day, every day.  Join #NOLAsTeam, We Are Your Krewe!Â
Visit UNOPrivateers.com/signup to stay connected and follow us @UNOPrivateers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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