LAFAYETTE, La. ? It took an extra period, but thanks to junior Lottie Moore's second career double-double and a suffocating defense, the ULM women's basketball team improved to 6-1 on the road in league play with a 65-59 win at Louisiana-Lafayette Wednesday night.
Moore tied her career high with 11 rebounds and shared game-high honors for points with senior Shannon Lloyd after tallying 14.
“Her [Lottie Moore] put back in the overtime was when I knew we had won the game,” ULM head coach Mona Martin said. “She is so good at getting to the rim and she hit some big shots for us. Her defense is what really stands out and is what helped us to win the game in the end.”
The win, coupled with a loss by UALR, moved ULM (16-8, 9-4 Sun Belt) into a tie for second place in the Sun Belt West and half a game behind divisional leader Arkansas State.
The Warhawks jumped on the Ragin' Cajuns early and looked like they were going to run away with the game. ULM led by as many as 10 points on three separate occasions in the opening period, including 24-14 with 5:22 remaining.
ULL (5-19, 1-12 Sun Belt) would not go away and, with four seconds remaining, connected on a jumper to trim the Warhawks advantage to two points at 30-28.
Two minutes into the second half the Ragin' Cajuns forced their first tie since the opening tip at 33-33. The two teams would trade leads over the next eight minutes with neither squad moving up by more than a single possession.
Up by one, senior LaJeanna Howard scored six straight points to help the Warhawks lead swell to seven points at 49-42. As they did all-night, Louisiana-Lafayette clawed back and pulled to within one points less than two minutes later.
The posts helped ULM build a lead of eight points with five minutes remaining only to see the advantage disappear. ULL had a chance to win the game with three seconds left, but missed a jumper at the buzzer to send the game to an extra frame tied at 57-57.
The Warhawks defense took over in the overtime period while the offense forced the ball down low. Lloyd scored six straight points to open the period and the defense limited the Ragin' Cajuns to 1-of-7 shooting for the 65-59 win.
On a night when the offense wasn't hitting, the ULM defense came up big. The Warhawks forced 22 turnovers, including four shot clock violations, and limited ULL to 41 percent shooting for the game to claim the victory.
“Our defensive play is what won the game for us tonight,” Martin said. “We struggled on the offensive end, but in the overtime our defense took over and led us to the victory.”
ULM will look to continue its climb in the West Division on Saturday when it hosts league rival Denver in the opening game of a league doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. The Warhawks will be looking for the season sweep against the Pioneers when the two squads square off.
