Saint Lucian pivot Megan Nestor reached double figures in scoring for the fourth time in a row, and recorded her eighth double-double of the season on Saturday, January 10, as the University of North Texas women’s basketball team held on to beat Tulane 59-53 on the road for the first time in programme history.
Canaries native Nestor, a 6-4 transfer, was one of three Mean Green players with at least 10 points. She needed just five shots to get to that mark for the 10th time in 16 games this season. She tallied 10 or more rebounds for the ninth time this term, and had her eighth double-double, and her third straight. She added two assists and two steals.
Nestor, a former Saint Lucia national netballer, continues to lead the American Conference in rebounds per game with 11.9 on average. Up to Saturday night, she was the only player in NCAA Division I basketball with at least 100 defensive rebounds and over 70 offensive rebounds.
The Mean Green earned a maiden victory in the Avron B. Fogelman Arena after five previous tries. But staunch defence, Chania Price’s career-high 15 points, and 12 from Aysia Proctor in the first half, helped guide UNT to victory.
The second half was a slogfest, as the Mean Green had just 19 points in the latter 20 minutes, after pouring in 20 points in each of the first two quarters. Tulane made runs at the start of the third and fourth quarters, cutting North Texas’ lead to single digits both times.
“We got off to a great start, and that was a big key for us,” head coach Jason Burton said. “We reflected on last year, and it was the opposite, where we started slow and had to fight our way back to give us a chance to win at the end. I loved how we came out in the first half and scored 40 while holding them to 25. I thought our confidence and lack of aggression caused too many lulls in the second half, but we found a way to win.”
Wow… maybe she can make it to the WNBA!1 rooting for you!