NEW ORLEANS – The University of the Incarnate Word and the University of New Orleans battled it out for fourth place in the Southland Conference standings on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals came out on top with a 64-54 road victory.

Head coach Jeff Dow said, "We're really proud of how well our team responded after what was obviously a tough loss on Thursday night against Southeastern Louisiana."
 
Destiny Terrell was a problem inside for New Orleans, finishing with a season-high 17 points while shooting 7-for-12 with three steals and five rebounds. Aliyah Collins added 14 points, going 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.
 
Two early fouls on UNO's leading scorer put her on the bench and the Cardinals tied the game up twice with looks to take the lead, but the score remained tied, 13-13, to end the first quarter.
 
The Cardinals continued to remain on the heels of the Privateers with the largest UNO lead of the half, only a four-point difference between the two teams. New Orleans tried to pull away with the four-point lead, but a contested corner three from Brenna Perez cut the lead right back down to one to head into halftime (27-26).

Coach Dow added, "The first half was a little sluggish on both ends, but we had a tremendous third quarter both offensively and defensively. Shooting 60 percent from the field and knocking down all five free throws was a good thing to see."
 
UIW had an efficient start to the third quarter, outscoring UNO 24-14 to give the Cardinals a 15-point lead (46-31) before the Privateers forced three Cardinal turnovers resulting in seven quick points for New Orleans. UNO's rally didn't last long as UIW took back the momentum and ended the quarter with a nine-point advantage (50-41).

"As is usually the case, it was our defense that really set the tone in the second half. Realistically you don't expect to limit your opponent to 19 percent from the field on their home floor for one half, but that's what we were able to do. Our energy level was much better in the second half and it really showed on the defensive end," coach Dow said.
 
The Privateers were not able to come back in the fourth as the team went 2-for-17 from the field as the Cardinals came out on top with the 64-54 victory.  
 
FOLLOW ALONG  
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