Pryor’s 22 points not enough in close loss at UIW

SAN ANTONIO – The New Orleans Privateers (2-11, 1-3) were in the fight the entire way but could not push past in a 61-55 loss to the defending Southland postseason champion UIW Cardinals (6-8, 1-3) on Thursday evening at the McDermott Center.

Though UIW led throughout the game after the opening basket, the advantage was in single digits throughout the contest except for one point late in the first quarter when UIW led by as many as 11 points.

With 3:48 left, a Kyla Davis three-pointer cut the Cardinal lead to 51-48. However, New Orleans turned the ball over five times and missed two shots. The Cardinals got a fast break bucket from Myra Bell off a steal with 38.9 seconds left to put them up five.

From there, UIW was clutch at the free throw line as they went 8-for-8 to finish out the game for their first conference victory of the season.

The Cardinals dealt the first big shot of the game with an 11-0 run that spanned nearly five minutes of the first quarter. UIW was up 16-5 when the dust settled but the Privateers came up with a couple of stops and chipped away at the deficit with three made free throws in the final minute.

New Orleans used a quick five-point spurt to narrow the gap to three. Although the Privateers shot over 46 percent from the field, the Cardinals managed to remain ahead for the entire quarter. New Orleans got to within a point when they trailed 22-21 after a Justice Ross layup but that’s as close as they got for the remainder of the first half.

Nina De Leon Negron beat the first half buzzer with a layup to send the Cardinals into the locker room with a 27-22 advantage.

INSIDE THE BOX
DeArica Pryor finished with a team-high 22 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Tara Green added 11 points and six rebounds. New Orleans had an 11-4 advantage on the offensive glass for the night.

UIW shot 51 percent from the field for the game. Brenna Perez and Bell each had 14 points to lead the Cardinals.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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