MONROE, La. - A dominant 22-point outing from
senior Larrie Williams propelled the ULM women's basketball team to a 66-35 Sun
Belt Conference win over rival UL-Lafayette Saturday afternoon inside
Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The 31-point winning margin was the largest
for the Warhawks this season, and ULM is now 18-0 against the Ragin' Cajuns
all-time in Fant-Ewing Coliseum (36-5 overall).
The Warhawks earned a 34-10 margin on points scored in the paint, and
outrebounded UL-Lafayette 49-35.
Williams is one point behind Ranita Bolton for 18th place on the
school's all-time scoring list, as she is now just 29 points shy of 1,000 at 971
points. Fellow senior Elizabeth Torres
passed Ronda Harrison for 4th place in assists at ULM (420).
Taylor Maricle finished a loose ball
underneath the goal for the game's first points and a 2-0 ULM lead. Maricle then drilled a 3-pointer from the top
of the key for a 5-0 Warhawk advantage.
After UL-Lafayette (5-16, 0-9) closed the deficit
to 5-4, ULM embarked on a 7-0 run highlighted by two sophomore Ashleigh Simmons
layups to stretch the lead to 11-4.
ULM (7-15, 5-4) upped the lead to 10 (18-8)
on another Maricle jumper from long range.
The Ragin' Cajuns quickly closed the lead to just four (18-14) on
back-to-back 3-pointers from Megan Whittaker.
A jumper from Jean-Marie Allen brought UL-Lafayette within two (18-16)
on an 8-0 run.
The Warhawks closed the half on a 12-0 surge
to take a 30-16 advantage into halftime.
Williams scored six of the frame's final 12 points to pace all scorers
with 12 points. Maricle added eight
points and two rebounds, while Simmons chipped in six points and six boards.
A pair of buckets from Torres and sophomore Jasmine
Shaw to start the second half pushed the ULM run to 16-0 and gave the hosts a
34-16 lead. Finishes down low by
Williams and Maricle extended the cushion to 21 (40-19).
Williams was not finished, drilling the
second 3-pointer of her Warhawk career from the top of the key to put ULM in
front 53-25. An and-1 in the paint
extended the advantage to 56-27.
Williams added seven rebounds to her
game-high 22 points. Simmons and Maricle
each finished with 10 points apiece, while Shaw added eight points and a
career-best five steals.
Krystal Motley led UL-Lafayette with eight
points, while Whittaker chipped in six points and three rebounds.
The Warhawks travel to Jonesboro, Ark. for a
showdown with Arkansas State Feb. 1 at 7:05 p.m.
