LAFAYETTE, La. -- All five ULM starters scored in double figures to lift
the Warhawks past in-state rival UL-Lafayette 76-65 Saturday afternoon inside
Earl K. Long Gym. The victory ended a five-game road slump for the Warhawks and
gives them two wins in the last three days.
Junior guards Priscilla Mbiandja and Elizabeth Torres each led the
Warhawks with 14 points. Mbiandja fell one rebound shy of her third double-double
of the season with a team-high nine rebounds and Torres handed out a team-high
six assists.
Junior center Larrie Williams put up 13 points while junior guard
Kassie Courtney and senior forward Sannisha Williams had 11 and 10 points,
respectively.
As a team, ULM (10-10, 4-3 SBC) shot 50.9 percent from the field
including 53.8 percent in the second half. The Warhawks also outrebounded the
Ragin' Cajuns almost double 39-20 and outscored them 19-5 on the second chance.
The Warhawks utilized a hot 10-4 start to the second half including
eight unanswered points to add to their 36-32 halftime lead and build a
10-point cushion (46-36) with 16:07 left to play. ULM took its biggest lead of
the half, 55-43, at the 12:01 mark with a 3-pointer by Jasmine Shaw that capped
a 15-9 spree.
UL-Lafayette (9-11, 2-5 SBC) grabbed a 7-2 lead to begin the game before
ULM put together an 8-2 run to take its first lead 10-9 at the 15:06 mark. A
narrow 10-9 run by the Ragin' Cajuns forced the first tie of the half 19-19
with 8:22 remaining, the first of four ties over a fast-paced six minutes of
play.
Neither team gained more than a three-point advantage before the Ragin'
Cajuns' Mercedes Johnson and Lyndra Bell made back-to-back layups to give
UL-Lafayette a four-point cushion at 30-26 with 3:23 before the break. The Warhawks
responded immediately with four unanswered baskets by Courtney, Torres and
Larrie Williams to mount a 10-2 spree and take a 36-32 lead into the half.
UL-Lafayette's Johnson provided the offensive power for the Ragin'
Cajuns as she led with 26 points for the afternoon. Bell and Danielle Oliver
each scored nine points while Johnson and Danielle Smith each grabbed a
team-high four rebounds. Smith also had three assists. UL-Lafayette shot 48.1
percent from the field.
ULM will wrap up its two-game road swing when it travels to Jonesboro,
Ark., to take on Arkansas State Wednesday at 7 p.m.
