BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?LaJeanna Howard
hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining sealing a 52-49 ULM victory over Delaware
State in the third-place game of the UAB Blazer Invitational Tuesday evening in
Bartow Arena.
With the Warhawks (7-3)
protecting a 50-49 lead, the senior guard calmly stepped up the line and hit
her first two tries of the game and just her third and fourth attempts in 20
days.
Shannon Lloyd led ULM with 15 points and
six rebounds, connecting on 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the charity
stripe. The Warhawks sharp shooter
Jessie Carrier finished with 12 points hitting three three-pointers in seven
tries.
All-Tournament Team selection
Lottie Moore gave the Warhawks a 39-38 lead with just under eight minutes to
play capping an 8-0 ULM run erasing a
seven-point Delaware
State (3-6) lead. Moore
finished the tournament averaging 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
The Lady Hornets fought back and
took a 40-39 lead on a jumper by Raquel Collier, but a jumper by Lloyd and a
long bomb by Carrier put ULM up for good.
Lloyd had an answer for every
rally that the Delaware
State tried to mount late
in the game answering back-to-back DSU buckets with baskets of her own.
Delaware State
came out of the break on fire taking its first lead of the game with an 11-0
run staking a 30-26 advantage. Lloyd
stopped the bleeding for the Warhawks with a jumper in the lane following one
of her four offensive rebounds on the game.
After shooting a paltry 28.6
percent (8-of-28) in the first half, Delaware
State hit 7-of-12 to open
the second half; it finished the game shooting 37.5 percent (21-of-56).
Collier was the lone Lady Hornet
in double figures finishing with 10 points.
Thea Littlepage led Delaware
State with seven
rebounds, but didn't score missing all five of her attempts.
The Warhawks opened the game on a
9-2 run with their signature pressure defense in full effect. Over the Lady Hornets first nine possessions
of the game, ULM
held them to just 1-for-5 shooting and forced four turnovers.
Delaware State
pulled within a point, 12-11, halfway through the opening period, but the
Warhawks quickly stretched the lead out to six with a jumper by Carrier and a
three-pointer by Howard.
The Lady Hornets are the
defending MEAC Champions and played in the NCAA Tournament last year.
ULM carried a 26-19 lead into the break after
Regena Jackson drained a leaning jumper in the lane at the buzzer.
The Warhawks open Sun Belt
Conference play against in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday afternoon
at 3:00 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader with the ULM men, who take on
UT-Tyler at 1:00 p.m.
The game against the Ragin' Cajuns
(3-5) is ULM's
first home game since it hosted the Taco Bell Classic on December 1-2. Fans not able to make it to Fant-Ewing Coliseum
can watch and listen to the game live on Warhawks All-Access.
The Warhawks hold a commanding
29-3 edge all-time against ULL, including the series that the teams spilt last
year after meeting for the first time in 14 years.
