MONROE, La. -- Turnovers
plagued ULM (1-5, 0-1) on Thursday night against Western Kentucky (4-1, 2-0).
The Warhawks committed 36 turnovers leading to 31 points for the Lady Toppers.
Alexar Tugler led the way for ULM with a season-high 17
points while Sharnice Brooks collected a career-high 12 points. Four scored in
double-figures for WKU paced by 19 from Alexis Govan. Chastity Gooch collected
her fifth straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
ULM started fast and led 6-5 after three minutes of action
powered by its transition game. The Lady Topps answered with a 7-2 spurt and
led 12-8 with 13:46 left in the half.
Sharnice Brooks have ULM the lead again, 15-14, at the 11:48
mark. WKU collected five unanswered points and led 24-17 with 7:46 left before
the break. A five-minute scoring drought allowed the Lady Topps to extend its
lead 27-17.
The Warhawks were able to close to the gap before the break
and trailed 29-26 at halftime. Brooks and Alexar Tugler led ULM with seven
points, a career-high for Brooks. Alexis Govan led WKU with 11 points. The Lady
Toppers had 21 points off turnovers.
Alexar Tugler banked home a triple to tie the game, 29-29,
two minutes into the second half. WKU responded with a flurry and jumped back
ahead, 35-31, at the 16-minute mark.
With 11:39 to play, WKU held onto a 40-39 advantage. The
lead grew to six at 49-43 with 7:30 left in the game after a three-pointer from
Chaney Means. An 18-4 run gave WKU its largest lead of the night, 55-43, with
6:24 remaining.
In the final minutes, ULM would get as close as six but no
closer and the Lady Toppers would collect its second Sun Belt win in as many
tries.
The Warhawks will continue its early portion of its Sun Belt
schedule at UALR on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Head Coach Mona
Martin Quotes
"It was a very frustrating game for us.
It is obvious we need some help with controlling the ball. Turnovers
have been a nightmare this season. We tend to panic with ball. We need to learn
to take care of the ball if we are going to continue to improve. It is hard to
win when you turn the ball 36 times."
"We will keep working on it but somewhere along the way they
need to figure it out. I thought we were the better team tonight but we just
shot ourselves in the foot time and time again."
"We missed some early layups early and we did not do a great
job rebounding. We are an immature team right now but that will change."
