COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Playing in one of the toughest venues for an
opposing team to get a win, the University of New Orleans gave it their
all, before falling to Texas A&M, ranked 12th in the country, 73-44
on Sunday night.
UNO (5-4) was led by
Jada Frazier, who scored 19 points, a season-high.
Brittany Helm added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Lady Privateers, who were playing for the first time in eight days after a break for finals.
A&M (8-1) won their 22nd straight home contest, extending a school-record. Danielle Gant scored a game-high 28 points while collecting 14 rebounds. Gant shot 10 of 12 in the contest including 8 of 9 from the charity stripe.
The Lady Aggies jumped out to an 11 point lead with 12:10 left in the first half, but UNO would get on a roll, scoring 10 of the next 12 points. Frazier would score six of the Lady Privateers points during the run, as UNO would get within three at 19-16. A large part of the run was UNO's defense, not allowing the Lady Aggies a field goal for nearly five and a half minutes of play.
Following the UNO defensive display, the Lady Aggies would return the favor, holding the Lady Privateers without a basket from the field from the 9:38 mark til a Frazier lay-up with 34 seconds remaining til the break. Frazier led UNO with 10 points in the half as A&M led 37-25 as the teams hit the locker room.
In the second half, UNO struggled from the field again.
Candice McGee made a three-pointer with 18:03 left in the game, but the Lady Privateers would not make another field goal until 11:00 left when Frazier would make a jumper from the paint. UNO would not lose sight of the Lady Aggies, who would start the second half making just four of their first 16 attempts.
Frazier continued her strong play in the second half, scoring nine points in the half, capping a night that saw her play a season-high 32 minutes.
The Lady Privateers will return home for the first of two straight weekends at home, starting with a Saturday contest against UALR to open up Sun Belt Conference play. UALR enters the contest with a 6-2 record. Tip is slated for for 2 p.m with live stats and video available exclusively on UNOPrivateers.com.
