SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team held on for a 71-59 win over Southland Conference rival New Orleans on Thursday night at the McDermott Center.
The Cardinals (4-9, 1-1) dominated the first half and went up by 25 points on the first possession of the second half. It appeared that the team was headed for an easy blowout victory, but the Privateers (2-9, 0-2) had something else in mind. UIW led 54-34 with 11:06 remaining on a pair of free throws by
Aricka Adams (Round Rock/Round Rock HS). UNO responded with a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to make it a ball game.
The Cardinals buckled down on defense holding the Privateers to just one point over the next 3:30 and pushed their lead back up to 14 points. New Orleans would never seriously threaten the rest of the way.
The win is the first for the Cardinals in 2015 and it is also the first conference win in nearly a year snapping an 11-game Southland losing streak.
The Cardinals shot the ball well all game long. They connected on 48.1 percent of their field goal attempts and were 4-for-6 from three-point range. They went 17-of-27 at the foul line.
Breanna Birmingham (Battle Creek, MI/Harper Creek HS) led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Haley Frias (Georgetown/Georgetown HS) had 15 points while
Shanise Brooks (Topeka, KS/Highland Park HS) added 14 points and six rebounds.
Jazmine Holman (Arlington/Arlington Bowie HS) dished out a season high eight assists and also led the team with four steals. Overall, the team forced 24 turnovers and pulled down seven more rebounds than UNO.
New Orleans shot 42.9 percent from the field, made 3-of-12 from three-point range and was 14-of-18 at the foul line. Raven Coleman had a huge game for the visitors with 21 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks while making 9-of-11 from the field. They had 14 steals and forced 23 turnovers in the game.
The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday at Northwestern State at 1 p.m.
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