MONROE,
La. - The ULM women's basketball team struggled to its worst shooting
performance of the season in a 66-61 loss to Grambling State on Tuesday evening
inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks (4-3) shot 28.9 percent from the field and
made just 2 of 21 shots from 3-point range.
Senior
guard Priscilla Mbiandja tied a season high with 19 points to the lead the
Warhawks. The native of Yaounde, Cameroon, also had eight rebounds and six
steals, while shooting 7-of-20 from the field.
Junior
center Larrie Williams netted 14 points and 11 rebounds for her second
double-double of the season, while senior forward Sannisha Williams tallied 10
points and nine rebounds.
Grambling
State (3-4) finished the game shooting 48.0 percent in a game that saw
nine ties and 13 lead changes.
The
Lady Tigers scored four consecutive points down the stretch to take a 58-53
lead with 1:23 remaining in the game. Grambling State took their largest lead
of the game at 63-57 with 35 seconds remaining on two free throws from Tonishea
Mack.
ULM
scored the next four points, all on free throws from Sannisha Williams to cut
the margin to 63-61 with 13 seconds remaining, but Grambling's Breanna Johnson
put the game out of reach with a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession.
Johnson
and Secrett Anderson led all scorers with 20 points each for the Lady Tigers.
Johnson added six assists and two steals on 6-of-13 shooting. She also made all
six of her free throw attempts.
Grambling
State used a 10-4 run to take its biggest lead of the first half at 24-18 with
5:37 left to play before the break. Kristen Harper hit a 3-pointer from the
wing to cap the run.
ULM
answered with a quick 9-0 spurt, spearheaded by five points from Mbiandja during
that span. Mbiandja finished off the run with a pair of free throws at the 2:30
mark to give the Warhawks a 27-24 advantage.
Breanna
Harper hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Grambling State a 31-28 lead at
halftime. The Lady Tigers shot 59.1 percent in the half, including 3-of-6 from
3-point range.
The
Warhawks head to Houston, Texas for the Hackerman Invitational Dec. 3-4. ULM
will face host Rice on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m., and play either Long Beach State or
Prairie View A&M the following day.
