After finishing the road portion of their schedule, the women’s basketball returns home to Moody Coliseum this weekend to defend their perfect mark against the visiting New Orleans Privateers.
Two years ago, the Wildcats took on the Privateers as part of ACU’s first ever Southland Conference game. The result favored ACU heavily 88-44, as it posted its largest margin of victory in a Southland matchup to date.
A year later, the two teams met in New Orleans as part of the Wildcat’s three-game road trip to end the season and the Privateers returned the favor with a 71-50 win. In that game the Wildcats were held to 4-21 shooting from behind the arc, and New Orleans’ Randi Brown poured in 27 points to pace the Privateers.
Brown, now a sophomore, is tied with ACU’s junior guard Alexis Mason for second in the conference in points per game. They each have posted averages of 17.7 ppg since Southland play began.
The Wildcats head into this matchup on the tail end of a dominate performance against Houston Baptist. ACU held HBU to just 25.8 percent shooting in the first half and held a 25-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
“I think that after giving up so many rebounds to Southeastern, it helped us to realize that if we didn’t want close games we had to do our part and block out and rebound which is what we did against HBU; so with that being said, the same effort and energy will be needed to keep New Orleans off of the boards,” Mason said.
Meanwhile, the Privateers enter the game near the bottom of the conference at 7-17 overall and 4-11 in conference play. UNO has also won just one road game this season posting a record of 1-11 away from home.
After a nail-biting 72-70 victory over Southeastern Louisiana (3-12, 4-22) in their last home game, the Wildcats know the Southland Conference is unpredictable.
“This like many other games in the conference could come down to the last possession so taking care of business and putting them away early will probably be a big key for us,” Mason said.
The Privateers four wins have also come against conference tournament bound teams, as they defeated Stephen F. Austin, who is currently on a nine-game winning streak, along with Nicholls State. UNO also took McNeese State to overtime before falling by three at the buzzer.
The matchup begins a season ending three-game home stand for the Wildcats that will also include rematches against Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Saturday’s matinee will be followed by the men’s game at 4, as all three remaining games will be men’s and women’s double-headers.
