NEW ORLEANS – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team is preparing to face New Orleans for the second time this season after earning a victory in the previous meeting one week earlier, on Jan. 26. Tip off for this game will be at 2:00 p.m. CT inside Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
 
The Cardinals will hope to replicate their offensive success from the last meeting, when UIW scored a season best 81 points on 44.7 shooting. Junior guard Imani Robinson and freshman guard Macy Ray each delivered career nights, combining for 47 points in the win.
 
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I-MONEY ROBINSON

• Robinson continues to log major minutes for the Cardinals. Cementing herself as an all-around leader of the group.
• Has recorded 10 or more points in seven of her last 10 games, averaging 12.3 points per game in that stretch, including a career-high 26 points against UNO (1/26/19)
• She has been getting to the line with great success in conference action, hitting 28 of 38 free throws (73.7 percent).
• Robinson has remained a constant all-around threat for the Cardinals. She leads or is among the leaders, in all major statistical categories including first in points (192) assists (47), steals (36) free throws made (49) and attempted (70). She is second on the team in 3pt made (17) and blocks (9) and third on the team in total rebounds (74).
• Against New Orleans (1/26/19), she hit career highs in points (26) and steals (6). WIth that, she becomes one of just five SLC student-athletes to record six or more steals in a conference game this season.

 
A STARR IS BORN

• Since the start of conference play, freshman forward Starr Omozee has emerged as a key contributor for UIW.
• Omozee is averaging 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in an average of 28.1 minutes through her first eight SLC games.
• Her 7.1 rebounds per game is ninth best in the conference, tops among freshmen.
• While not a high volume outside shooter, she chooses her deep shots well, hitting five of her 10 attempts in SLC games, including a 2-3 3pt performance in her last game at HBU.
• She leads the team with 120 rebounds this season, second most by a freshman in the conference, just nine behind the leader.
• After securing three double-doubles in her first six games as a Cardinal, Omozee set the UIW DI freshman record for most double-doubles in a single season when she delivered her fourth of the season against Lamar (11 points and 10 rebounds) on Jan. 23, 2019.
• Against GCU (11/9/18), she posted 11 points and 15 rebounds, becoming the first freshman besides Robinson (2016) to record a double-double in UIW DI history.
• She set multiple season-highs in her first game at the McDermott Center (vs. Houston, 11/16/18), scoring her second double-double (19 pts, 10 rebs) and making multiple threes in a game for the first time.
• Just two games later, she hung 10 points and 11 rebounds on Weber State (11/21).

 
RAY OF LIGHT

• Ray has established herself as the driving force of the team through nine starts.
• After assuming the role of starting point guard against Rice (Dec. 29, 2018), Ray is averaging 29.9 minutes, often with the task of shutting down the top scoring opposing guard.
• On Jan. 19, she held the SFA point guard to 0-4 from the field, she was shooting .462 percent from the field in conference games heading into play.
• She has found her stroke on the outside in recent games, averaging 10.5 points per play over her last four contests, thanks to some deadly accuracy from beyond the arc. In that time, she is 9-21 from deep (42.9 percent).
• Her 21 points against New Orleans (1/26/19) stands as the most points scored by a UIW freshman since Feb. 22, 2017 (Robinson, 23 points, vs. Nicholls).

 
BALANCED ON OFFENSE

• UIW has kept opposing defenses on their toes in conference play by employing a balanced philosophy in the attacking end.
• Five different Cardinals are averaging at least 6.0 points per game through eight conference games (Robinson, Omozee, Ray, Kara Speer and L. Henry). Only SFA and Nicholls have more (six).
• Six different Cardinals have connected on at least five triples, led by Ray with nine in SLC competition.
• Three different Cardinals are averaging 2.0 or more assists per game as well, with Robinson leading the team through seven conference games (2.5) and Bowie and Omozee closing out the trio, averaging 2.1 each.

 
TOWER OF LUNDEN

• Since arriving in the Alamo City, junior forward Lunden Henry has established herself as one of the Cardinal's most consistent presences in the paint. She averages 7.3 points per game this season on a team-leading .399 shooting (61-153), while pulling in an average of 5.2 rebounds per contest.
• She enjoyed her most productive game of the season at McNeese, where she recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds for her first career Division I double-double.
• She nearly collected her second double-double of the season when she registered 14 points and nine rebounds at HBU.
• Lunden has proven to be a hard worker on the offensive glass, hauling in 41 offensive rebounds this season, including a season-high six, which she has achieved twice this year – vs UTA (Dec. 2) and at McNeese (Jan. 2).
• She has now recorded at least five points and five rebounds in nine games this season and has achieved at least one of those statistics 15 out of her 19 games played this year.

 
SCOUTING NEW ORLEANS

• The New Orleans Privateers enter play at the bottom of the conference with a 2-7 record.
• They are coming off a 67-62 road victory over Northwestern State on Wednesday.
• They enter play third in the conference in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 16.1.
• They are led by senior center Shania Woods, who is averaging 13.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game this season.
• This is the second meeting between UIW and New Orleans this year, after the Cardinals bested UNO, 81-69 in San Antonio last Saturday (Jan. 26). 

UP NEXT
The Cardinals return to Texas for a week of practice before the three-game road trip concludes on Saturday, Feb. 9, when UIW travels to Corpus Christi for a clash with the Islanders of Texas A&M-CC., tipoff there is set for 3:00 p.m.

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