PRIVATEERS DEAL SUGAR BEARS FIRST SOUTHLAND LOSS

[Seminole Indian]

CONWAY — After eight straight victories, including a 6-0 start to conference play, the Sugar Bears finally suffered a setback on Wednesday as they fell 52-48 to New Orleans – their first loss in the Farris Center in 382 days.

The loss was the first for the Sugar Bears (13-5, 6-1 Southland) in their 24 games against Southland opponents, and first ever to the Privateers (8-10, 4-3) in seven meetings.

After holding a slim 28-26 halftime lead when an apparent basket by the Privateers at the buzzer was waived off, the Sugar Bears hit a lull in the third quarter as they shot just 1 of 12 from the field (8.3 percent) and were outscored 14-3, giving UNO a 40-31 lead heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth, UNO got back-to-back baskets in the first minute to push the lead to 13, and still led by 11 midway through the quarter when the Sugar Bears went on an 8-0 run to draw within three with 4:15 to play.

The teams then traded baskets, and turnovers, over the next 1:21 until UNO's Halie Matthews pushed the lead back to five with 2:54. The Sugar Bears would have their opportunities down the stretch, but struggled from the free throw line – going just 1-for-6 in the final two minutes, and came up empty on a pair of shots in the final 10 seconds as the Privateers built the lead to six with five seconds remaining. A Kierra Jordan putback at the buzzer closed the final margin to four, representing the Sugar Bears' lone field goal over the final 3:30.

Jordan had 9 points and 4 rebounds in the quarter to finish the game with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Taylor Baudoin had 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 9 rebounds and Kamry Orr added 11 points, all in the first half. Mekaylan Hicks added 8 points – going 2-for-2 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line – and 5 rebounds.

The Sugar Bears held UNO's Randi Brown – the Southland's leading scorer at 23.3 points per game – to 12, but the Privateers got a lift off the bench from Matthews who had a season-high 15, nearly equaling her season's output of 21 points in five games.

The Sugar Bears shot just 33.3 percent (17 of 51), their lowest percentage since making 27.9 percent in a loss at South Alabama on Dec. 16, and committed 18 turnovers – their second-highest total of the season behind 24 at Tennessee.

With the loss, the Sugar Bears fall into a second-place tie in the Southland standings. At 1:00pm on Saturday, they host Abilene Christian, which also came into Wednesday night undefeated in league play before falling 66-55 at Stephen F. Austin, which remains as the league's lone unbeaten at 6-1.


NOTES
• Kierra Jordan's double-double was the 6th of the season, 5th in conference play, and 9th of her career
• UNO's 52 points marked the first time the Sugar Bears had allowed more than 50 since giving up 64 to South Alabama on Dec. 16
• The loss snaps the Sugar Bears' home winning streak at 16

QUOTES
Head Coach Sandra Rushing

"It was not a good night. They outplayed us – they were a better basketball team tonight. I hope that we haven't lost sight of team first. Tonight we didn't play as a basketball team. We shot ourselves in the foot tonight. We got outplayed, and I'm disappointed in our performance. They did exactly what they wanted to tonight. People have figured us out by now – if they haven't, something's wrong."

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