NEW ORLEANS – A dominant third quarter in which the East Texas A&M University women’s basketball team shot 71 percent from the field was the separator in the Lions’ 72-63 win on the road over the New Orleans Privateers on Saturday afternoon at Lakefront Arena.
Winners of three of their last four, the Lions have improved to 6-6 on the season and now 2-3 in Southland Conference play, while the Privateers fall to 0-13 overall and 0-5 against Southland opponents. The Lions recorded their first win in New Orleans since the 2022-23 season.
The Lions scored the first four points of the game, followed by four from the Privateers, and then the next four came from the Lions. For the final 4:03 of the first quarter, the Privateers held the Lions to just three points, while scoring the final five points of the quarter to lead 14-11 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Privateers had a lead as big as five, but the Lions ended the half on a 7-2 run over the final 2:18 of the quarter to lead 26-24 at the break. Nina Horvath (Oberwart, Austria) scored 11 points in the first half, shooting 4 for 7 from the field through the first 20 minutes.
Trailing 30-29 with 7:45 left in the third, the Lions took their largest lead of the game to that point on a quick 8-0 run with Tiani Ellison (Durant, Okla.) hitting two layups in a row, and Reza Po (San Bruno, Calif.) adding a three-pointer.
Ellison scored 12 of the team’s first 15 points in the second half, shooting 4 for 5 from the field and 4 for 5 at the line as well.
A 19-2 run over a span of four minutes put the Lions ahead 48-32 in the third quarter, with Ellison scoring 11 of the 19 points in the scoring run. The Lions’ largest lead in the game was 16 points, which came with 5:40 left in the game.
Nina Horvath finished the game with 24 points, while Ellison recorded the first double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds as well as three assists. Po added 14 points and six rebounds. The Lion starters combined to score 70 of the 72 points.
In the second half, the Lions shot 60 percent from the field, including 71 percent in the third. The Privateers were led in scoring by Shaniyha Brown with 14 points.
UP NEXT
The Lions play their next two at home, including hosting A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. for Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day. All East Texas A&M faculty and staff members will receive a free ticket to the game by contacting LionTickets@etamu.edu.
Article source and photo credit: East Texas A&M University Athletics
