MONROE, La. -- ULM used a pair
of big runs in the middle of both halves to storm past Florida Atlantic 83-63
in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both schools Wednesday night in
Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Warhawks (7-6, 1-0 Sun
Belt) used a 19-2 run in the first half to take a 17-point lead (25-8) and then
put the game away with an 18-2 run midway through the second half to open up a
24-point advantage (64-40).
Larrie Williams and Marion
Zollicoffer each scored 13 points to lead the Warhawks and Sannisha Williams
turned in her 11th career double-double with 11 points and 10
rebounds. Kassie Courtney finished three points shy of her first double-double
with seven points and a game-high and career-high 12 rebounds.
The Warhawks, who entered the
game ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA in rebounding margin, dominated the glass
outrebounding the Owls by 20 (51-31). ULM's inside game proved to be too much
on the offensive end as well as the Warhawks outscored the Owls 58-24 in the
paint.
The first-half run took nearly
six minutes off the clock after the teams were deadlocked at 6-6. ULM was
8-for-13 from the floor and forced nine Florida Atlantic turnovers during the
run. A pair of free throws by Viviana Penate snapped a five-minute scoreless drought
by the Owls and a 3-pointer by Lyrell Barfield on their next possession was
their first field goal in over eight minutes.
Breana Turner scored a
game-high 21 points to lead Florida Atlantic, while Dalita Scott added 11
points and Penate netted 10 points.
Ashley Wakefield put in a
lay-up and drained a three from the corner on back-to-back possession to
stretch the ULM lead back out to 17 points, 30-13, with 7:01 to play in the
half.
The Owls (3-9, 0-1) stormed back
at the end of the half thanks to cold shooting by the Warhawks and a lot of
free throws. Florida Atlantic pulled to within three, 30-27, thanks to a 14-0
run over 4:18 that saw ULM go 0-for-8 from the floor and the Owls shoot 15 free
throws.
Six points from the Warhawk
bench and a 3-pointer by Barfield set the halftime score at 36-30 in ULM's
favor. The ULM bench scored 42 points in the game compared to just 19 by the Florida Atlantic reserves.
Three
straight buckets by the Warhawks to open the second half stretched their lead
out to 42-30. The Owls got back to within eight, 46-38, before the Warhawks
took command of the game with their 18-2 outburst over the next five-and-a-half
minutes.
ULM would go on to lead by as
many as 25 points in the second half as head coach Mona Martin emptied her
bench. Fourteen different Warhawks played in the game and 12 found the scoring
column. Pricilla Mbiandja added eight points, while Wakefield had seven points and
Jordan Rawson netted six points and pulled down six rebounds.
The Warhawks will look for a
sweep of the Sun Belt's Sunshine State schools on Sunday when they play host to
FIU at 1 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the Warhawk men at
Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
