The New Orleans Privateers women’s basketball team is set for two in-state road games this week, with matchups against Nicholls on Thursday and McNeese on Saturday.
In their most recent game, the Privateers were defeated 85-63 by Stephen F. Austin at home. Shanihya Brown led the team with 14 points, while Aaliyah Ellis contributed 10 points. The Lady Jacks outscored New Orleans 31-18 in the third quarter.
Aaliyah Ellis, playing her third game since returning to the lineup, logged 21 minutes after limited time in previous games. She recorded her third double-digit scoring performance of the season and has been effective from the free throw line, making 22 of her 24 attempts so far.
This season, playing time has been distributed across the roster, with ten players averaging at least 15 minutes per game. Mikayla Johnson is just below that mark at 14.1 minutes per game. New Orleans is one of only two teams in the Southland Conference whose leader in minutes played does not rank among the top 20 in the conference.
Defensively, New Orleans had eight blocks against Stephen F. Austin. After averaging 1.9 blocks per game earlier this month, they have improved to sixth in the Southland with an average of 2.7 blocks per game over their last four contests.
Jayla Kimbrough and Lauren Banks are both among the top twelve in free throw percentage since Southland Conference play began. Kimbrough has made 84.6 percent of her attempts during league games (fifth best), while Banks has converted on 79.3 percent of her tries across nine conference games.
Nicholls enters Thursday’s contest seventh in the Southland standings at 4-5 after losses to Stephen F. Austin and Lamar since defeating New Orleans on Jan. 10. Emani Burks ranks among the top ten in rebounds per game and blocked shots within the league.
McNeese leads the conference with a record of 14-4 overall and an 8-1 mark in league play. The Cowgirls allow just 52.5 points per game—the best scoring defense in the Southland and third nationally behind UConn and Quinnipiac. Arianna Patton ranks third in three-pointers made within the conference, while Jalencia Pierre leads all players in turnover ratio with a national ranking of twenty-fourth for assists-to-turnovers.
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