HOUSTON – HCU took a one-point lead into halftime but fell behind in the second half with visiting New Orleans holding on to defeat the Huskies' women's basketball team, 57-48, on Thursday evening in Sharp Gym in Southland Conference play.
The Huskies (5-11, 0-5 SLC) came out on fire, opening the game with a three-pointer from
Erin Maguire on the first possession and scoring on each of the next three possessions for a quick 9-0 lead less than two minutes in. The Privateers (6-10, 3-3 SLC) answered, though, with the game's next seven points while keeping HCU off the board for a three-and-a-half minute stretch.
N'Denasija Collins snapped the team's scoreless stretch with a floater at the 4:39 mark. HCU held a 12-9 lead at the close of the first quarter.
Justice Ross gave the Privateers their first lead of the game on a free throw as part of an and-one with 6:31 on the clock, putting UNO ahead 14-13. UNO scored the next four points to lead 18-13 before an
Elizabeth Matadi layup and a
Tove Caesar three on consecutive possessions evened the score at 18-18. The next three points went to the Privateers before
Enya Maguire knocked down a triple to even it up once again with 2:02 left in the half. Nora Francois made one of two from the foul line with 20 seconds on the clock before Collins connected on a pair of her own free throws with just three ticks of the clock left in the half to send HCU into the locker room with a 23-22 lead at the break.
Yasmin Butler got the scoring started in the second half with a layup, pushing the HCU lead to 25-22, but back-to-back buckets from Zoe Cooper put UNO ahead, 26-25.
Kennedy Wilson answered with a three-pointer on the next possession to retake the lead for the Huskies, 28-26. The Privateers then went on a 9-2 run for a 35-30 lead, matching the Privateers' largest lead of the game.
Enya Maguire knocked down her second three of the night to pull HCU back within two. The Privateers held their lead the rest of the quarter, ending the third with a 39-36 advantage.
Early in the fourth, Wilson made a driving layup and Butler made one-of-two from the line to bring the score to 41-39. UNO responded quickly, however, scoring seven unanswered in the span of less than two minutes for a 48-39 advantage.
Enya Maguire hit another three, her third of the night and then a couple of minutes later forced a turnover and scored on a fast break, pulling the Huskies back within four, 48-44, with 4:47 remaining. The two teams then traded field goals but Alexis Calderon drained a three for a 53-46 Privateers lead with just 2:28 to go.
Enya Maguire got it back to five, 53-48, at the 2:00 mark after another fast break layup off a steal but the Huskies were unable to score the rest of the way.
Enya Maguire led the Huskies with a 13-point effort off the bench, her highest-scoring game since late November when she scored 14 vs. Mount St. Joseph. The junior was 5-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-8 from behind the arc. Butler finished with a career-high 10 points, connecting on 4-of-7 from the field, along with three rebounds and four blocked shots. Over her last two games, Butler has amassed nine blocked shots. Collins led all players with 10 rebounds while adding six points.
Zoe Cooper scored a game-high 16 points for the Privateers, paired with six rebounds. UNO out-rebounded the Huskies by a 45-33 margin, including 14 on the offensive end. HCU ended the night shooting 32.7 percent (17-of-52) from the floor, 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from three and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the foul line
HCU hosts Lamar on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 1:00 p.m. inside Sharp Gym in the first game of a doubleheader with the HCU and Lamar men following at 3:30 p.m.
