The New Orleans Privateers women’s basketball team is set to play their last game before the holiday break, hosting the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) Cardinals on Thursday night at Lakefront Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
In their most recent outing, the Privateers were defeated by Tulane with a score of 95-71 on Sunday, December 14. Shanihya Brown led the team with 20 points—her second time reaching that mark this season—and recorded a team-high six steals.
Brialle Washington made her first start of the season against Tulane and scored 13 points, marking her third double-digit scoring performance this year. Over the last two games, Washington has accumulated 28 points and set a personal best with five steals during the game against Tulane.
The Privateers have registered four games this season with at least ten steals, including twelve in their latest matchup. They currently rank fifth in the Southland Conference for steals per game at 9.9 and have totaled 93 steals through nine games. Additionally, they are fourth in the conference for turnovers forced per game, averaging 19.9.
Heading into Thursday’s contest, New Orleans has lost six consecutive games to UIW. Four of those defeats were decided by six points or fewer, including a double-overtime loss (79-76) at UIW in 2024. The last time New Orleans beat UIW was in 2022. The Cardinals lead the all-time series between these teams, 11-9.
Following Thursday’s game, New Orleans will not return to action until late December when they travel to south Texas for games against UTRGV on December 29 and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on December 31.
UIW comes into Thursday’s matchup with a record of three wins and five losses after securing their first Division I victory of the season over Nicholls by a score of 54-52 on Tuesday evening. Their other wins were against St. Thomas (Texas) and St. Mary’s (Texas).
Jhasmin Player is serving her first season as head coach for UIW after being hired in March. Previously, she was an associate head coach at Oklahoma State for three seasons and helped guide that program to its third-most wins in school history last year.
Fans can stay updated on University of New Orleans athletics news by subscribing to their weekly newsletter or following @PrivateersWBB on Twitter/X and Instagram or liking /PrivateersWBB on Facebook.
