MONROE, La.?Jessie
Carrier hit back-to-back three-pointers late in the second half lifting ULM to a 68-59 victory over Arkansas State
giving the Warhawks sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt West Division.
After Shannon Lloyd gave ULM a 56-53 lead on a put back and
subsequent free throw, the sophomore Carrier drained her only two threes of the
game giving the Warhawks (11-5, 4-1 Sun Belt) a 62-53 lead with just 2:04 to
play.
"I am so proud of our team," ULM head coach Mona Martin said. "The second half was a completely different game. We played with a lot more intensity and got some major baskets off of steals from our defense. We had a little letdown in the first half, but I am very proud of the work ethic and attitude they showed in battling back."
Lottie Moore led all scorers with a career-high 24 points
(19 in the second half), while Ashley Wallis netted 11 and Carrier finished
with 10 to pace ULM. Lloyd added seven points and 10 rebounds
(seven offensive) after missing ULM's game on
Thursday against Western Kentucky.
The game was ULM's
fifth against either an NCAA Tournament or NIT team from last season in its past
seven games. The Warhawks won three of
the five games.
Sherina Scott led Arkansas
State (9-8, 4-2) with 13
points and 11 rebounds, while Brittney Hiles and Veronica Smith came off the
bench to score 12 and 11 respectively.
The second half featured seven lead changes and seven ties
as the teams combined to score 75 points after lighting up the scoreboard for
just 52 in the opening half.
Moore, a junior from nearby West Monroe, established her dominance
early in the second half scoring ULM's first 12 points out of the locker room leading
the Warhawks on a 12-4 run giving them a 35-33 lead after trailing 29-23 at the
break.
Neither team established a lead greater than five points (ULM led 51-46 and ASU led
44-40) until the Warhawks ran off 10-straight sparked by Lloyd and Carrier late
in the half.
The Warhawks dominated the boards 45-36 overall and 19-10 on
the offensive glass. ULM
took advantage of its strength down low with 22 second-chance points compared
to just 11 by Arkansas
State.
ASU was able to cut into the Warhawks lead on a
three-pointer by Caroline Starr and a pair of free throws by Hiles, but Wallis
put the final nail in the ULM
victory with an offensive rebound and layup pushing the lead back to six,
64-58.
LaJeanna Howard entered the game for the Warhawks averaging
21.0 points over her last three contests.
While the senior netted just four points on the game, she dished out 10
assists and played a game-high 33 minutes.
Both teams struggled out of the gate combining for just
eight points over the first seven minutes of action.
Wallis put ULM
on the board with a jumper at the 13:19 mark in the opening period and her
bucket gave the Warhawks the spark they needed.
Following a three by Hiles, ULM
rolled off seven straight points, giving them nine points in just over two
minutes after going scoreless over the first 6:41 of the game.
The Warhawks are back on the road next week traveling to
UALR (10-5, 2-2) on Thursday and Florida International (6-9, 2-2) on Saturday. ULM opened the
new year winning a pair of Sun Belt road tilts at Denver
and North Texas.
