Brown scores 35 in UNO loss

Junior guard Randi Brown led four New Orleans Privateers in double figures offensively with a game-high 35 points, but it was not enough as the University of New Orleans women’s basketball team dropped a 95-93 decision to Southland Conference foe Northwestern State Saturday afternoon in Prather Coliseum.
UNO led for more than 33 minutes of the contest and held an 81-75 advantage with 5:56 to play.
The Lady Demons used a 10-6 run over the next 4:12 to tie the contest at 87-all and converted all eight of their free throws down the stretch to come out on top.
The Privateers, who had four players foul out, were held without a field goal over the final two and half minutes.
In defeat, New Orleans fell to 13-13 on the year and 8-8 in SLC action.
Northwestern State, meanwhile, improves to 12-14 overall and 6-9 in league play.
“We allowed them to get to the line too many times and they hit 27 of their free throws,” New Orleans Head Coach Keeshawn Davenport said in a news release. “We allowed two people to score 34 points so we’ve got to play better defense.”
As a team, the Privateers hit 59.4 percent from the field (38-of64), including a 44.4 showing from beyond the 3-point arc (4-of-9). New Orleans held a 27-20 rebounding advantage, turned 14 offensive boards into 20 second-chance points and held a 54-30 edge in points in the paint.
The difference in the game came on the defensive end of the court as Northwestern State was 30-of-49 for the game (.612) – including an 8-of19 effort from downtown (.421) – and sank 27-of-29 free throws (.931).
Senior guard Jewel Angelo was second to Brown, a Central Catholic alum, in scoring for UNO with 19 points while sophomore center Shania Woods had 15 and redshirt-sophomore guard Mariah Wright added 13.
Woods paced the Privateers in rebounding with a game-best eight boards to go with a pair of steals before fouling out.
Angelo and senior guard Ariele Davis shared team-high assist honors with three apiece, and Davis tallied the team’s lone blocked shot.
Neither team could take control of the contest early on as the Privateers and Lady Demons sat tied at 7-all at the 7:35 mark of the first quarter.
New Orleans went on a 16-7 run over the next 4:55 to go ahead 23-14, and the Privateers first-half lead swelled to as many as 10 twice in the second quarter.
On both occasions, Northwestern State rallied to cut the lead down to four – at 29-25 with 7:39 on the clock and at 38-34 with 3:00 to play before the break.
Following the latter Lady Demon rally, the Privateers answered with a break-away layup by Mariah Wright and a 3-pointer by Brown to go ahead by nine, and UNO led by eight at 46-38 with 1:16 to go.
Northwestern State, however, sandwiched back-to-back 3-pointers around a bucket by Shania Woods to make it 48-44 at halftime.
Clinging to a four-point lead just over two minutes into the third quarter, New Orleans appeared to take control of the ballgame with a 10-3 rally to take a 64-53 advantage with 5:17 to go in the period. The Lady Demons responded with an 11-0 run over the next 3:36 to tie things up, and sophomore center Shania Woods broke up the run with a put-back layup to give UNO a 68-66 lead and set up the dramatic final frame.
The Privateers extended the lead to 6 on three occasions during the final period. The last time at the 5:56 mark on a Jewel Angelo jumper to make it 81-75.
The Lady Demons outscored New Orleans 12-6 during the next 4 minutes and 12 seconds to tie it at the 1:44 mark, at 87-87 thanks to a 3-pointer by Beatrice Attura.
Two free throws by Attura at the 1:16 mark gave Northwestern State the lead by 2 points, 89-87.
With 1:07 to go UNO freshman Jada Swafford canned two freebies to knot things again at 89.
Attura was clutch at the free throw stripe for Northwestern State knocking down four in a row for a 4 point 93-89 advantage, but a Mariah Wright layup closed it to 2 at 93-91 with :08 second remaining.
Cheyenne Brown continued the successful free-throw parade for the Lady Demons with :05 seconds to go to make it 95-91, and a New Orleans basket by Mariah Wright at the buzzer produced the final margin of victory.
Cheyenne Brown and Beatrice Attura led Northwestern State in scoring with 34 points each, and Brown paced the Lady Demons with six rebounds and five assists.
Gabby Bell headlined the Lady Demon defense with four steals.
Despite being one of four Privateers to foul out of the game, Randi Brown was 14-of-20 from the field, 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point arc and committed 1 turnover in 36 minutes of action.
“Randi shot the ball very well today from the field. She was very comfortable and she did it with them face-guarding her and double teaming her. She had a real solid game,” Davenport said.
The Privateers return to action Thursday when Southeastern Louisiana comes to town for a 5:30 p. m. contest. It will be Senior Night, the final home game for senior Jewel Angelo, Raven Coleman and Ariele Davis. The game will be the opener of a doubleheader as the UNO men will take on Southeastern Louisiana at 7:45 p.m.