Saturday, December 7
Denton
3 PM
University of North Texas
-45,00 CUSA
69
vs
66
Louisiana
6-2,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Louisiana
12
22
12
20
66
North Texas
20
15
18
16
69
Photo by: Jon Mitchell
Mean Green pick up win over Louisiana
12/7/2019 6:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DENTON ー The Mean Green held off a fourth quarter rally from Louisiana to end a two-game skid and defeat the Ragin' Cajuns 69-66 at The Super Pit on Saturday.
"We needed a win," head coach Jalie Mitchell said. "I just told the team that regardless of how ugly or pretty it is, a win is a win. We'll take it and we'll learn from it."
North Texas (4-5) held a comfortable 65-54 lead with 5:13 left in the game before hitting a cold streak from the floor. UNT failed to score in the next five minutes and three seconds, which allowed Louisiana to cut the UNT lead to 65-63.
N'Yah Boyd stopped the bleeding for the Mean Green and extended their lead to three points after knocking down a free throw with 10 seconds left. Destinee McDowell intercepted two passes on the Ragin' Cajuns' final two possessions to preserve the win for North Texas.
"We got a little comfortable near the end," redshirt junior Callie Owens said. "We just gotta keep going throughout all 40 minutes, and coach [Mitchell] stresses that a lot. We have a young team, so we're just learning from every mistake, every win and every loss. We're just taking that in stride and trying to be better in the next one."
Louisiana (6-2) entered Saturday winners of its past five contests, but North Texas utilized an efficient shooting performance to propel themselves past a red-hot Ragin' Cajuns squad. UNT shot a season-best 49.1% from the floor while scoring a season-high 69 points.
The Mean Green had three different players finish in double figures on the afternoon. Callie Owens turned in her best offensive performance of the season, shooting 6-of-9 from the field to score a season-high 16 points.
Boyd finished with 13 points against the Ragin' Cajuns and has scored 35 points in her last two games.
McDowell added 10 points and eight rebounds while matching her season bests in both assists (3) and blocks (3).
The Mean Green wasted little time getting rolling offensively. They began the game making 8 of their first 12 shots, and a three-pointer from Callie Owens gave the Mean Green a 20-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, Louisiana ー who entered Saturday's game averaging 68 points per game ーfound its rhythm on the offensive side of the floor. The Ragin' Cajuns went on a 12-0 run to take a five-point lead and force a Mean Green timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, North Texas didn't allow a field goal for the remaining 3:23 of the first half. A three-pointer from Jones in the closing minute of the second period gave the Mean Green a 35-34 lead heading into the break.
Jones finished with a UNT career high nine points, all of which came in the first half.
The Mean Green outscored the Ragin' Cajuns 18-12 in the third quarter behind strong performances from McDowell and Anisha George, who combined for 13 points in eight rebounds in that period.
North Texas took a seven-point lead into the final frame before holding off the Ragin' Cajuns for one of the Mean Green's most impressive wins of the season.
UNT travels to Utah State Dec. 16 for an 8 p.m. CST tipoff.
"We needed a win," head coach Jalie Mitchell said. "I just told the team that regardless of how ugly or pretty it is, a win is a win. We'll take it and we'll learn from it."
North Texas (4-5) held a comfortable 65-54 lead with 5:13 left in the game before hitting a cold streak from the floor. UNT failed to score in the next five minutes and three seconds, which allowed Louisiana to cut the UNT lead to 65-63.
N'Yah Boyd stopped the bleeding for the Mean Green and extended their lead to three points after knocking down a free throw with 10 seconds left. Destinee McDowell intercepted two passes on the Ragin' Cajuns' final two possessions to preserve the win for North Texas.
"We got a little comfortable near the end," redshirt junior Callie Owens said. "We just gotta keep going throughout all 40 minutes, and coach [Mitchell] stresses that a lot. We have a young team, so we're just learning from every mistake, every win and every loss. We're just taking that in stride and trying to be better in the next one."
Louisiana (6-2) entered Saturday winners of its past five contests, but North Texas utilized an efficient shooting performance to propel themselves past a red-hot Ragin' Cajuns squad. UNT shot a season-best 49.1% from the floor while scoring a season-high 69 points.
The Mean Green had three different players finish in double figures on the afternoon. Callie Owens turned in her best offensive performance of the season, shooting 6-of-9 from the field to score a season-high 16 points.
Boyd finished with 13 points against the Ragin' Cajuns and has scored 35 points in her last two games.
McDowell added 10 points and eight rebounds while matching her season bests in both assists (3) and blocks (3).
The Mean Green wasted little time getting rolling offensively. They began the game making 8 of their first 12 shots, and a three-pointer from Callie Owens gave the Mean Green a 20-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, Louisiana ー who entered Saturday's game averaging 68 points per game ーfound its rhythm on the offensive side of the floor. The Ragin' Cajuns went on a 12-0 run to take a five-point lead and force a Mean Green timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, North Texas didn't allow a field goal for the remaining 3:23 of the first half. A three-pointer from Jones in the closing minute of the second period gave the Mean Green a 35-34 lead heading into the break.
Jones finished with a UNT career high nine points, all of which came in the first half.
The Mean Green outscored the Ragin' Cajuns 18-12 in the third quarter behind strong performances from McDowell and Anisha George, who combined for 13 points in eight rebounds in that period.
North Texas took a seven-point lead into the final frame before holding off the Ragin' Cajuns for one of the Mean Green's most impressive wins of the season.
UNT travels to Utah State Dec. 16 for an 8 p.m. CST tipoff.
Team Stats
LA
UNT
FG%
.458
.491
3FG%
.500
.375
FT%
.500
.643
RB
28
36
TO
11
14
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Point Guard
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