ALEXANDRIA, La. – A second half surge from North American University (6-6, 3-6 RRAC) resulted in a 71-69 loss for the Louisiana State University of Alexandria women's basketball team.
"We fought," LSUA Head Coach Billy Perkins said. "We were up 10 and we let it slip away. We had some big turnovers at the end. We have to play as a unit, we didn't do a good job communicating and made some stupid mistakes. We've been harping on turnovers and we need to regroup and go back to the fundamentals."
Dannah Martin-Hartwick led the Generals (10-3, 7-2 RRAC) with 17 points. She added two assists and one steal.
Benedetta Peracchi and
Jewel Jones both tallied 11 points. Peracchi led LSUA with nine rebounds.
Amani Gray and
Alexis Dyer each recorded seven rebounds. Peracchi led the Purple and gold with five assists. The Generals shot 37.9 percent from the field, recorded 24 points in the paint, 14 points off turnovers, 13 second chance points, and the bench chipped in 21.
LSUA struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first half, shooting just 19 percent from the floor and trailed 11-10 after the opening stanza.
Midway through the second quarter, a three from
Kelly Norris knotted the game at 19-19. Martin-Hartwick followed it with a pair of jumpers for a 23-19 lead. After a three from the Stallions, Jones knocked down a shot from deep to send LSUA into the halftime break with a 26-22 edge.
The Stallions stayed close throughout the third quarter, taking a brief lead halfway into the third. The lead changed hands repeatedly over the final minutes of the period, resulting in the Stallions taking a 43-42 advantage into the final quarter.
LSUA opened the fourth with an 8-0 run for a seven-point lead, 50-43. The Generals pushed their lead to 10 with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation on pair of threes from Gray and Martin-Hartwick, 66-56.
A pair of turnovers allowed the Stallions to put up a 6-0 run, cutting the lead to 66-62. The Stallions tied the contest, 69-69, with a layup and 14 seconds on the clock. Another LSUA turnover put the ball back in the Stallions' possession. After an initial missed shot, North American grabbed an offensive rebound and converted the second effort for a 71-69 victory.
The Generals are back on the road next week as they travel to Texas A&M-San Antonio and Our Lady of the Lake University. LSUA takes on the Jaguars at 5:30 PM on Thursday, December 19.
