Box Score
Post-Game Interview with Mary Gleason (video)
HOUSTON – A five-point halftime deficit proved to be the difference, as Houston Baptist lost to visiting New Orleans, 65-58, Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gym.
Erin McGarrachan led HBU (4-18) with 15 points, while
Rachel Arthur added 13.
Shanice Steenholdt had eight points and a team-high six rebounds.
Monet Neal and
Meghan Shank each set new career highs, as Neal scored eight points and Shank scored her first collegiate points, scoring four.
Keri Thomas led New Orleans (2-18) with 19 points, while Mathilde Fogelstrom scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Amber Clay nearly recorded a double-double off the bench, scoring eight points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.
HBU won the opening tip and it took
Wiebke Bruns just three seconds to go up the floor and score on a layup, assisted by McGarrachan. HBU continued to score two more baskets to make a 6-0 lead before UNO got on the board at the 18:20-mark by K. Thomas.
HBU continued to lead by six, 10-4, at the 15:41-mark before Clay made an old-fashioned three-point play to make the score 10-7.
The Huskies led by as many as eight, 18-10 following a jumper by
Joselyn Pugh, before the Lady Privateers scored nine unanswered to take a 19-18 lead with 8:40 remaining in the first half.
The two teams exchanged baskets and leads for five consecutive possessions before HBU took a 26-23 lead on a jumper by Steenholdt with six minutes remaining.
After a jumper by Fogelstrom cut the HBU lead to one, a Mechel'le Thomas steal and eventual free throws by K. Thomas gave the Privateers the lead and momentum. The Huskies came back from six down to tie the game at 32-all with 3:40 remaining, but UNO scored eight unanswered to take a 40-32 lead with 1:27 to go in the first half.
The Huskies continued to battle, going on a 6-0 run to trail by two, 40-38. Neal had the chance for an old-fashioned three-point play, but missed the free throw. K. Thomas went up the floor and nailed a three at the buzzer as the Lady Privateers led HBU at the half, 43-38.
Arthur led HBU in the first half with 11 points, while K. Thomas led UNO with 15 points. UNO shot 57% from the floor, while HBU shot 40%.
UNO began the second half with the ball, but Arthur stole the ball which resulted in a layup by McGarrachan, as HBU found itself down three, 43-40, early in the second half.
The Lady Privateers used an 8-2 run to take a 51-42 lead with 15:25 remaining in the second half, as Clay culminated the run with a layup following an offensive rebound.
HBU outscored UNO 10-5 run to trail the Lady Privateers by just four, 56-52, with eight minutes remaining.
UNO would not back down, increasing its lead by as many as seven on two separate occasions. The Huskies brought the deficit all the way down to three, 61-58, following a layup by Arthur with just under two minutes remaining. But HBU went cold the remaining time, as UNO scored the final four points for the win.
HBU will look to regroup against another future Southland Conference foe, Lamar, on Wed., Feb. 13 at 7 pm in Beaumont.
