Northwestern State Lady Demons secured a 78-61 victory over the New Orleans Privateers on Saturday at Lakefront Arena. The Lady Demons established control early, opening the game with a 20-2 run before the first media timeout. During this stretch, Northwestern State converted seven of their first nine shots and made six three-pointers.
The remainder of the first half was evenly matched in scoring, but New Orleans trailed 44-25 at halftime. Mariah Hart contributed two three-pointers as part of her eight points by the break.
In the third quarter, New Orleans attempted to rally, outscoring Northwestern State 11-5 by the media timeout. Layups from Hart and Lauren Banks reduced the deficit to 13 points. However, Northwestern State responded with an eight-point run over three minutes to extend their lead back to 21 points.
Vernell Atamah led all scorers with 24 points for Northwestern State, while Nya Valentine added 22 points and 11 assists. The Lady Demons shot 55.1 percent from the field and hit 13 of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc.
For New Orleans, Hailee Brennen recorded six points and tied her career-high with 11 rebounds. Brown scored 16 points and provided six assists. Hart finished with ten points on four-of-six shooting. Aaliyah Ellis collected five steals as New Orleans forced a total of 25 turnovers.
The Privateers will next play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home on February 5 at 6:30 p.m.
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