SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team continued its winning streak at home against New Orleans in a decisive fourth quarter, 60-57, victory on Saturday afternoon inside the McDermott Center. 
 
Three Cardinals scored in double digits in Saturday's win. Starr Omozee led the squad with 14, Jaaucklyn Moore added 13 and Brenna Perez notched a season-high 10. 
 
"New Orleans made us work to the final second for this one, but we're thrilled to come away with the win," said head coach Jeff Dow. 
 
New Orleans jumped out to an early lead. Myra Bell came off the bench putting away two baskets on back-to-back possessions to give the Cardinals their first lead. The score was tied three times after that, but back-to-back layups from Moore and UIW held a narrow, 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.  
 
New Orleans came out of the break on a stride to tie the score, 21-21, on an 8-4 run, which was the boost they needed to jump ahead limiting UIW to its lowest scoring quarter. The Cardinals trailed by five with less than three seconds, but a buzzer-beating layup by Moore made it a one-possession game at the break, 30-27. 
 
Jada Ducantell and Brianna Ellis' scoring efforts in the third quarter boosted the Privateers ahead by as much as ten points with less than two minutes left in the period. Omozee's three made shots from the field kept the Cardinals alive, but UIW would trail by seven heading into the final stretch. 
 
UIW's fourth-quarter comeback was instant opening with a 12-2 run to get ahead by three, then using the zone defense to fend off the UNO attack. It was a pair of threes coming from Arielle Adams and Kara Speer that started the momentum, but it was the driving layup by Perez for the and-1 that made the bench roar. 
 
UNO responded with a 6-0 run to take back the lead. The Cardinals didn't miss a beat as Speer and Moore each made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions and Omozee iced the cake with a jumper in the paint to lead by four as the clock wound down. 
 
The Privateers hit a shot to close the gap to two points, 59-57. In an attempt to extend the game, New Orleans sent Adams to the charity stripe where she put one away. With five seconds remaining UNO was unable to convert on a last-second heave, sealing UIW's third win of the week. 
 
QUOTING COACH DOW 
On the tough start… 
"In the locker room after the game, we said, sometimes you're going to have games where you feel like you're scuffling and out of sorts for the first three quarters. We made some mistakes that were a little bit out of character compared to what we'd done in the other two games on the road this week. With Destiny Terrell unavailable today we knew that would hurt our rotation a bit and what we normally do, but it was great to see a lot of people step up. 
 
On the fourth quarter … 
"I can't say enough about the toughness mentally and physically that we showed in the fourth quarter. For example, we struggled from three in the first half going 2-10, but we stepped up in the fourth quarter alone making four of the five which were huge. Arielle Adams and Kara Speer hit big threes with no hesitation on their part. Arielle had a great game giving us six points off the bench and gave up zero turnovers so that was great to see. 
Brenna Perez with the great and-1 off a great pass from Jaaucklyn Moore and that is freshman to freshman. Starr Omozee had a slow first half, but she stepped it up in the second half making big shots. We found a way to hang around and do enough in the fourth quarter. We don't want to make a habit of that." 
 
On getting the small tasks done… 
"It was great to see that we were able to keep the turnovers under 15 for a positive assist to turnover ratio, which is a goal we have for every game. A stat that we focus on a lot, that was successful today, as we made more free throws than what the opponent attempted. Typically, 80 to 90 percent of the time if you accomplish that you win. Today we made 12 and they only attempted nine. The team had the discipline to hold them to nine free throws while knocking down some clutch free throws." 
 
On the defense… 
"We switched up to a match-up zone defense in the fourth quarter that we haven't been able to practice much, but I thought the team did a great job on the fly adjusting defensively." 
 
On New Orleans… 
"My hat's off to New Orleans. We knew they were better than the record indicates, and they played unbelievably hard with seven players. To compete as hard as they did speaks volumes as to the job that Keeshawn is doing coaching." 
 
UP NEXT 
The Cardinals remain at home to host McNeese on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. inside the McDermott Center. UIW's matchup against HBU set for Monday, Feb. 15 was postponed due to the forecasted inclement weather.  
 
STAY TUNED 
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook. 
 
Follow the team on Twitter @UIWWBB and on Instagram @uiw_womenshoops.