NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – HCU women's basketball successfully swept the season series against the New Orleans Privateers for the second season in a row behind a 62-54 win inside Lakefront Arena Saturday afternoon.
 
Marilyn Nzoiwu followed up a career night against the Southeastern Lady Lions with nine points and five boards in the first half of this contest. N'Denasija Collins had a prolific first half with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal – both players would finish with double-doubles.
 
HCU (7-7, 2-1 SLC) cruised out to a 9-2 lead in the first five minutes of this one. Abbey Sutherland set the tone for the Huskies on the glass in the first half. The Huskies opening possession finished with a missed three pointer before Sutherland grabbed the offensive board and found Collins who knocked down an open three on the second chance opportunity.
 
Nzoiwu make layups on back-to-back possessions to lead 7-0 before the Privateers (2-10, 1-2 SLC) finally got on the board on a Zoe Cooper made mid-range jumper.
 
UNO opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run and took their first lead of the game, 16-14, at the 8:17 mark. Julija Vujakovic quickly reclaimed the lead for HCU by knocking down a three pointer on the Huskies next possession.
 
This sparked a 10-0 run for the Huskies to extend their lead back to eight, 24-16. New Orleans was unable to cut back into the Husky lead and HCU went into halftime with their largest lead of the afternoon, nine, 33-24.
 
After two scoreless minutes to open the second half, Sutherland knocked down her lone three of the game from the left wing off an assist from Collins. After traded baskets, Collins made layup at the 6:15 mark of the third and gave the Huskies their largest lead of the afternoon, 40-25.
 
UNO's big second half surge began with two made free throws with six minutes to play in the third. They held the Huskies to just one made field goal over a nine minute stretch to end the third and begin the fourth quarters. UNO went on a 20-10 run over that span and shrunk the HCU lead to seven, 50-43. Vujakovic finally got the Huskies on the board in the fourth with a pull up jump shot at the 7:12 mark.

HCU failed to give in to the Privateers constant pressure though. Hennessey Luu-Brown made a tough layup in the paint to get UNO within five points of the lead. Nzoiwu, however, was fouled on the Huskies next trip down the floor and knocked down both free throws to ice the game. It was just a matter of running out the final minute on the game clock and knocking down some free throws before HCU walked away victorious for the second time against UNO this week, 62-54.
 
Collins finished with a team high 18 points while tacking on 12 rebounds, her third double-double of the season. Nzoiwu who set a new career mark in points in the Huskies previous game against SLU, finished this contest with a 15 point, 13 rebound double-double. Her 13 rebound performance tied her season high.

Kennedy Wilson stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Vujakovic finished with 11 points and a team-high two blocks. Amy Cotton followed up her career performance against SLU with five points and four rebounds off the bench including knocking down her lone shot from distance.
 
The Huskies return to Sharp Gym this Thursday to host Texas A&M-Commerce for the first time since they joined division I and the Southland Conference. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 5 pm.