MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The ULM women's basketball team was unable to upset Sun Belt Conference foe Middle Tennessee on the road Wednesday evening as the Blue Raiders pulled out a 87-58 result in The Murphy Center.
After an action-packed first half which saw 10 lead changes and eight ties over the first 16 minutes alone, Middle Tennessee utilized a 12-6 run going into the break and held ULM scoreless for over six minutes in the second half to snap the Warhawks' four-game winning streak.
As a team, ULM (12-11, 6-4 SBC) shot 40.0 percent from the field and was outrebounded for just the fifth time this season as Middle Tennessee grabbed 36 boards to 32.
After being tied 28-28 with 5:11 remaining in the first half, back-to-back 3-pointers by Anne Marie Lanning fueled the Blue Raiders' 12-6 spree which gave them their biggest lead of the half 42-32. A final Larrie Williams layup ended the half 42-34.
The Blue Raiders grabbed a 12-4 spree to start the second half and extend its lead 54-38 with 15:48 to play. Zollicoffer sank a jumper at the 15:28 mark before ULM went 0-for-8 over the next six minutes of play as Middle Tennessee scored 19-points straight and put the game completely out of reach winning 73-40 with 9:45 remaining.
The Warhawks mounted a 14-1 spree over four minutes on the strength of six points by Torres to wind down the second half, the score 77-56 before a final 10-2 run by Middle Tennessee ended the game with an 87-58 win.
A Larrie Williams layup and subsequent free throw gave ULM its first lead of the game 3-2 during a first half in which neither team could gain more than a two-point advantage over the first 10 minutes. ULM and Middle Tennessee (18-5, 9-1 SBC) answered each other nearly basket-for-basket until the 11:27 mark when the Warhawks grabbed their biggest lead of the half 21-18 with a Jasmine Shaw layup and free throw.
The Blue Raiders responded immediately with a 9-2 run to take their biggest lead of the half 27-23 with 9:33 to play. ULM held Middle Tennessee scoreless for the next four minutes as Alexar Tugler and Jordan Rawson each scored to force a tie 27-27 at the 6:34 mark.
Middle Tennessee was led by four players in double-figures as Icelyn Elie scored a career-high 28 points Lanning contributed 18. Lauren March and Ebony Rowe each collected 13 points while Rowe also had a team-high nine rebounds. Lanning and Kortni Jones each had a team-high nine assists.
The Warhawks will wrap up a two-game road swing when they head to Bowling Green, Ky., to play Western Kentucky Saturday at 1 p.m.
