MONROE, La.?ULM erased a 10-point
second half deficit with a 30-11 run, en route to a decisive 72-59 victory over
rival Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both schools Saturday in ULM's Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Ragin' Cajuns (4-6, 0-1 Sun Belt) led 40-30 with 15:55
remaining in the game, but a free throw by Lottie Moore and a layup by Shannon Davis sparked the Warhawks
(8-3, 1-0) run that led to the commanding victory.
The win is the second straight for the Warhawks over a team
that played in the NCAA Tournament last year.
ULM defeated defending MEAC champion Delaware State 52-49 Tuesday in the UAB Blazer
Invitational.
“We were sluggish in the first half and not getting up and down the floor,” ULM
head coach Mona Martin said. “We came
out in the second half with a lot more intensity and we wore them down as the
game went on.”
Dyamond Hogg hit her first three-pointer of the season tying
the game at 42-42 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. The bucket started a 17-0 Warhawk run giving them a commanding 56-42 lead with just under seven minutes left.
ULM
junior Lottie Moore scored a career-high 21 points, 16 in the second half, to
lead all scorers. The West Monroe, La.,
native added six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Shannon Lloyd added 11 points and five rebounds,
while Ashley Wallis netted a career-best 10 points.
Sonora Edwards led ULL with 17 points, while Whitney Dunlap
added 13 and Alicia McDaniel had 10.
The Warhawks lead swelled to as many as 19 points after a
pair of free throws by Moore
with just over a minute remaining.
Martin opened her bench over the final two minutes of the game and
Dunlap took advantage scoring eight of her 13 points with a pair of three's and two free throws
making the final score a little more respectable.
It was a tale of two halves for the Warhawks as they managed
just 21 points in the first half, the lowest output in any half this season. Following a halftime break where they didn't come out of the locker room until there was just one remaining before the start of the second half, the Warhawks scored 51 points, their highest output in any half this
season.
The Warhawks torched the nets for 55.6 percent (15-of-27) in
the second half, including 66.7 percent from beyond the three-point line. After shooting 56.5 percent (13-of-23) in the
first half, Louisiana-Lafayette struggled from the floor in the second half
hitting just 10-of-30 for 33.3 percent.
Neither team could find rhythm on the offensive end of the
court over the first 10 minutes of the game, with ULM holding a slim 10-9 advantage following a
pair of free throws by Wallis.
The Cajuns then went on a 10-2 run grabbing a 19-12 lead with just under
five minutes remaining.
The lead swelled to as many as 10 points for ULL, 26-16, before settling on
the 30-21 halftime margin.
ULM
remains perfect at home against its in-state foe with an unblemished 11-0
record. The Warhawks also run their
series advantage over ULL to 30-3, winning 19 of the last 20 meetings.
The Warhawks return to the road on Dec. 29 when they travel
down to New Orleans, La.,
to take on Tulane (8-3) at 2:00 p.m. in ULM's
final non-conference game of the year.
