GRAMBLING, La. - A spirited second half rally
was not enough, as late free throw shooting enabled Grambling State to defeat
the ULM women's basketball team 75-71 Tuesday night at Fredrick C. Hobdy Arena.
ULM mounted a vigorous comeback with under
six minutes to play. Senior Elizabeth
Torres made a pretty feed down low to fellow senior Larrie Williams for a
basket, and then drove to the hoop for an off-balance layup to pull the
Warhawks within 10 (66-56). A 3-pointer
by sophomore Jasmine Shaw narrowed the gap to 68-61. A Shaw and-1 down low left ULM trailing by
just two points (69-67) with 2:58 to play.
Grambling State put the game away in the
final two minutes when Toneshia Mack rattled home a bucket down low to lengthen the
lead back to 73-67. A pair of late Grambling
State free throws offset a ULM score to seal the win for the Lady Tigers.
Williams led ULM with 18 points, while Shaw
added a career-high 17 points and Torres chipped in 13 points.
The Warhawks (0-4) struck first when Shaw
finished a layup off a feed from Torres for a 2-0 lead. Torres then sank a deep 3-pointer to extend
the lead to five (5-0).
Alexis Watson got the Lady Tigers on the board
with a 3-pointer of her own before Markisha Patterson scored down low to even
the score at 5-5.
Grambling State (2-1) took its first lead of
the contest on a pair of Dayla Threatt free throws at the 14:08 mark to claim a
7-5 advantage.
Both teams traded baskets to close the
opening period, with freshman Sharnice Brooks scoring the first points of her
ULM career. Grambling State's Cierra
Ceazer finished a layup as time expired in the first half to send the Lady
Tigers to the break in front 33-21.
Brooks, Shaw and Williams paced the Warhawks with four points at the
break, while Torres, senior Marion Zollicoffer and sophomore Alexar Tugler
added three points each.
The Lady Tigers emerged from halftime on a
12-5 run to take their largest lead of the game (43-28) before the Warhawks
countered with an 8-3 surge to chip into the deficit.
Patterson drove inside for a layup to stretch
the Lady Tiger lead back to 51-40. A finish
by Savannah Carter on the ensuing possession lengthened the Grambling State
advantage to 53-42.
Torres answered with an impressive and-1
drive, closing the gap to nine points (53-44) with 11:33 to play, before Johnson
responded with a 3-pointer of her own to push the Lady Tigers back in front
58-46.
Mack led all scorers with 20 points, while
Patterson added 15 for Grambling State.
ULM returns to action Nov. 25 against Central
Arkansas in its first game of the World Vision Basketball Classic in Lubbock,
Texas.
