TROY, Ala. ? Senior Shannon Lloyd hit a lay-up with three defenders draped over her and one second remaining on the clock to break a tie and send the ULM women's basketball team home winners of a 51-49 game at Troy on Thursday evening.
Lloyd finished with 10 points and seven rebounds and helped key a ULM defense that out rebounded the home standing Trojans, 21-8 in the second half to keep pace in the hotly contested Sun Belt Conference West Division.
“We obviously did a much better job in the second half,” ULM head coach Mona Martin said. “Shannon Lloyd stepped up huge for us at the end and hit the shot that we drew up for her, but I thought we really out hustled Troy for the entire second half. We worked hard to get the rebounds and dive for every ball and it really paid off for us.”
Led by 16 points from junior Lottie Moore, ULM (13-7, 6-3 Sun Belt) finished the game with three players in double figure scoring despite tallying a season-low 51 points.
Playing at a methodical pace, ULM took an early 12-4 lead with 11:11 remaining in the opening period following back-to-back layups by Lloyd. The Trojans would chip away at the lead, going on a 9-0 run over the next five minutes to take their first lead of the game at 13-12.
Despite scoring a season-low 18 points in the first half, the Warhawks entered the lockers trailing by only four points at 22-18.
Out of the intermission, the Warhawks offense was cold. ULM went 0-for-5 from the field and committed three of their season-high 25 turnovers before sophomore Jesse Carrier hit a trey with 17:13 remaining to make the score 25-21.
Troy (10-11, 3-7 Sun Belt) maintained its advantage before a jumper by Moore gave ULM the lead at 31-30 with 10:59 remaining.
The Warhawks held the lead for the next four minutes until Amy Lewis connected on three of her team-high 15 points to reclaim the advantage for the Trojans.
The two squads scored one basket apiece in the final three minutes before Lloyd's heroics with the time expiring.
“Good teams have to overcome adversity,” Martin said. “The way we stepped up tonight and won a tough game speaks volumes about the character of our team. I'm proud of our team for playing hard and never giving up.”
ULM returns to action on Saturday, February 2 when it hosts South Alabama in the second game of a league doubleheader at Fant-Ewing Coliseum at approximately 5:30 p.m. The women's game will follow the Warhawks men's nationally televised ESPN2 game at 3:05 p.m. and will feature a full compliment of Chick-fil-A promotions.
