MONROE, La. ? The ULM women's basketball team converted on its free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 72-66 win against the Texas State Bobcats at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in front of 305 fans on Friday night.
ULM shot 17-of-19 from the charity stripe in the second half and sophomore Jesse Carrier scored 11 of her team-high 15 points in the final seven minutes, including a huge 3-point shot to seal the win for the Warhawks. Carrier finished the game with a career high in total points after hitting on all six of her free throw attempts and a trio of 3-point shots.
“I thought in the second half our defensive intensity was much better,” ULM head coach Mona Martin said. “Jesse hit a major shot for us at the end of the game that I felt was the game winning shot for us.”
ULM (3-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) held a lead by as many as 10 points in the second half after finishing the first period behind the Bobcats, 34-30. Ashley Cole poured in 12 first half points to set the tone for Texas State.
The Warhawks would make quick work in erasing the halftime deficit, using a 9-0 run out of the locker rooms to move ahead for good. Senior LaJeanna Howard hit her fourth 3-point shot of the game shortly after the break to get the ULM run started before Carrier's two free throws put the Warhawks up for good.
“I thought we had a very poor effort defensively in the first half,” Martin said. “We came out more determined in the second half to play good defense and I thought that helped us be in position to get the win.”
With 12:05 remaining in the game, junior Lottie Moore hit a pair of free throws to give the Warhawks the 51-41 lead, their largest of the evening. The Bobcats, led by Joyce Ekworomadu 12 second half points came storming back, reducing the lead to four points with less than five minutes to play before ULM was able to ice the game at the line.
ULM went 8-of-10 from the free throw line in the game's final five minutes to seal the victory.
The win keeps ULM undefeated on the season and moves the Warhawks to 3-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
The Warhawks return to action on Tuesday, November 20 when they travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. in search of their fourth straight win when they face the Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi at 6 p.m. ULM will look to begin the season 4-0 for the first time since the Final Four run of the 1984-85 season.
