NEW ORLEANS – Mia Deck scored a game-high 20 points and Erin Randle added a double-double to help lead New Orleans to a 74-64 non-conference women's basketball victory over the University of South Alabama on Sunday at Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena.

Deck also finished with five rebounds and three steals for the Privateers (2-3), with Randle posting 15 points and 10 boards and Mary Delgado contributing 16 points as well.  UNO connected on 46.4 percent from the field including making 10-of-25 attempts from three-point range.

Devyn Lowe led the Jaguars (3-3) with 14 points and Jayla Morrow scored 12, with the duo combining to make six of South's seven three-pointers in the contest.  Mahogany Vaught added 11 points while Antoinette Lewis just missed a double-double after recording nine points and a team-best nine rebounds.

New Orleans 74, South Alabama 64 (box score)

GAME FACTS
-The Privateers led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter after holding USA to just 3-of-14 shooting while closing the period with a 7-0 run over the final two minutes and 40 seconds.
-The advantage grew to as many as 16 points before UNO took a 36-26 lead to the locker room.
-UNO went on a 9-0 run midway through the third period to go up 48-31, but the Jaguars closed the gap to 53-42 after scoring nine of the final 12 points of the quarter.
-South cut its deficit to 55-49 after posting seven of the first nine points of the fourth quarter but made just one field goal over the next four minutes as the Privateers pushed the lead back to 14 points.
-The Jags did make it a five-point contest with 30 seconds to go before UNO made 5-of-6 free throws to close out the win.
-USA shot 40.3 percent from the field and was just 7-of-22 at the free-throw line.

NOTES
-The programs have now split their last four meetings after New Orleans earned its first victory over South since Feb. 3, 2010.
-It was the first time either team has scored 70 or more points in the series since a 78-51 UNO win in New Orleans on Feb. 18, 2001.
-It was the first time in her career that Lowe has scored 10 or more points in consecutive outings.
-It's also the first occasion that the redshirt junior has recorded multiple thefts — she, along with Morrow and Vaught, shared game-high honors with three each — since posting three in the Jaguars' final non-conference contest a year ago, a Dec. 20 visit to East Tennessee State.
-The scoring total was a season-high for Morrow, who hadn't reached double figures since finishing with 14 points in a victory over Troy at Sun Belt Conference Tournament on March 14, 2019.
-Morrow tied a career high — first set in a Dec. 9, 2018, win over Alabama State — after making three three-point field goals while recording more than one theft in back-to-back games for the first time since accomplishing the feat in the Jags' first two contests of the year.
-It was the second consecutive game, and fourth occasion in the last five outings, that Lewis has paced South in rebounding.
-Jadona Davis tied a career best with a pair of blocks for the second straight outing.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Terry Fowler
On the game: "We had opportunities to score early and just couldn't, then they were able to capitalize off of our turnovers to extend the lead at the end the first quarter.  In the second half we were able to limit our turnovers and score in the half court as well as in transition off of their turnovers."
On preparing for the start of Sun Belt Conference play: "There are four areas we need to show improvement on as we begin conference play: our preparation, limiting our turnovers, improving our defense and improving our free-throw shooting."

Up next: South will begin Sun Belt Conference play with a 1 p.m. (CST) match-up with Georgia Southern on Friday, Jan. 1 at the Mitchell Center.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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