MONROE, La. – A 19-4 start to the second half lifted the ULM
women's basketball team to its second-straight Sun Belt Conference win of the
season as the Warhawks defeated FIU 56-42 Sunday afternoon in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Junior guard Kassie Courtney was the leading scorer for the
Warhawks with a game-high 14 points, including a season-high performance from
the 3-point range as she sank 4 of 8 while going 5-for-11 from the field. Senior
forward Sannisha Williams also notched her third double-double of the season
and second in two games with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to bring her
career total to 12. Junior guard Elizabeth Torres collected a game- and
career-high 11 assists for the contest. ULM shot 38.2 percent from the field.
After returning from the break with just a two-point
advantage at 25-23, ULM (8-6, 2-0 SBC) held FIU (3-9, 0-1 SBC) to just two
baskets during the first 10 minutes of the second half to take control of the
game en route to a 19-point scoring spree which saw eight different Warhawks
connect from the floor. The run ended on
two free throws by Priscilla Mbiandja with 9:11 left in the game, the score
47-28.
The Warhawks took their biggest lead of the half at the 6:22
mark off a Courtney basket from downtown. The Panthers followed with a late 12-2
scoring streak in the final minutes of the game which whittled down ULM's lead
to 14 points, but were unable to fully recover from ULM's commanding second-half
start.
FIU was led by Elisa Casey who was the only Panther to reach
double-digits with 10 points. Rakia Rodgers and Michelle Gonzalez each put up
nine points for the game while Fanni Hutlassa grabbed nine boards and Gonzalez
dished out three assists. As a team FIU shot 29.1 percent from the field.
ULM saw just its third game this season in which it was
out-rebounded as FIU pulled down 40 boards to ULM's 32. The Warhawks rank ninth
in the country in rebounding margin, averaging 12.9 rebounds over opponents
this season.
ULM held FIU scoreless for the first three minutes of the
game, going up 6-0 on a Larrie Williams lay-up and two baskets by Sannisha
Williams before Gonzalez sank a jumper for the Panthers at 16:23. The Warhawks would
take a 9-3 run over the next four minutes capped by an Alexar Tugler 3-pointer
from the corner to take a nine-point advantage 14-5 with 11:23 remaining in the
half.
Momentum shifted toward FIU on the power of a 9-0 run during
the middle of the half, fueled by two lay-ups and a free throw by Elisa Carey
which forced the first tie of the afternoon 14-14.
The Warhawks came out hot following a timeout and responded
to the Panthers with a 10-0 run on the strength of back-to-back baskets from long range by Courtney. The run recaptured the lead for ULM and gave it its
largest advantage of the half at 24-14 with 4:15 left before the break.
The Panthers fought
back to within two to make the score 25-23 at the half, outscoring ULM 9-1 in the final four
minutes as they went 0 for 6 from the field.
The Warhawks will hit the
road for their biggest test of the season as they travel to College Station,
Texas to take on the No. 7 team in the country Texas A&M on Tuesday at 7
p.m.
