Courtesy: UNOPrivateers.com http://www.unoprivateers.com Nicole Holmes (front, above) and Brittany Helm (front) combined for 12 assists and six turnovers against Nicholls.

NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans women's basketball program will seek the seventh 3-0 in school history as they host SMU on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Lakefront Arena.

The contest, the second half of a doubleheader with the men's team, will be broadcast exclusively on UNO Vision. Fans can log in to UNOPrivateers.com for subscription information.

Turnovers are still a concern for UNO (2-0) as the squad committed 31 turnovers in Wednesday's win over Nicholls State. Despite the high turnover numbers, Nicole Holmes and Brittany Helm provided steady play at the guard position, combining for 12 assists to just six turnovers in the victory.

To help combat the turnovers, the Lady Privateers have continued the 2009-10 season where they left in 2008-09.

Through two games, foes are shooting 30 percent from the field and 10.8 percent from beyond the arc. Last season, the Lady Privateers matched the school-record for lowest field goal percentage allowed (38.5 percent) while finishing third in the school record books in lowest three-point percentage allowed (29.1 percent).

When UNO is not struggling in maintaining possession of the ball, they have had found success on the offensive side of the court. Helm's 61.1 percent shooting paces a team that is connecting on 48.5 percent of their attempts from the field.

The three-point shooting has been just as crisp with Amanda McCarthy's 5 of 9 effort through two games leading a team that has made 9 of 20 shots from beyond the arc.

In order to get to 3-0 on the season, the Lady Privateers will face the 2008-09 Conference USA regular season champions from SHU (2-0). A 2009 WNIT participant, the Mustangs enters the weekend with a 2-0 record after winning home contests against Loyola Marymount (78-58) and Arkansas (76-71) to start the season.

The win over the Razorbacks on Wednesday was the first since 1993 for SMU, who currently has four different players averaging double-figures. Christine Elliot is the top scorer with 15.0 points per game, followed by Raquel Christian with 14.5.

Strong shooting, particularly from beyond the arc has been to SMU’s advantage. The squad is shooting at a 51.5 percent clip (17 of 33) compared to just 25.9 for opposition. Through two games, all 10 players to get in have seen at least 12 minutes average per contest for a Mustangs team that received two votes in the most recent USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

UNO is 2-0 all-time in the series against SMU, beating the Mustangs in New Orleans in 1987 before picking up another win in Dallas in 1988.

Following Saturday's contest, the Lady Privateers will be off for nearly a week before starting play in the Colorado Coors Classic against Harvard on Friday, Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m.