DENTON, Texas -- The
last three meetings between North Texas
(4-10, 3-2) and ULM (2-12, 0-5) had been decided by three points or less. The
Mean Green bucked that trend on Saturday night with a 79-51 win inside The
Super Pit.
North Texas led by as many as 29 and finished with four
players in double-figures led by Laura McCoy's 20 points.
Ashleigh Simmons led the Warhawks with 15 points and seven
rebounds. Jae Shin matched her career with four three-pointers and points with
14. As a team, ULM matched its season-high with six three-pointers.
North Texas put ULM in an early hole with a 14-2 lead after
three minutes of action. With 12 minutes remaining the Mean Green had stretched
its lead to 22-9 as the Warhawks struggled to keep possession of the
basketball.
An Alexar Tugler three-pointer cut the deficit to 29-18 but
North Texas answered with a 13-2 run to lead 42-20 with 2:10 left in the half.
At halftime, ULM trailed 44-27. McCoy led all scorers with
11 points including three three-pointers. Alexar Tugler and Simmons each had
seven points to lead the Warhawks. North Texas collected 13 points off of 15
ULM turnovers.
The home lead grew to 52-32 at the arrival of the first
media timeout of the second half with 15:35 left in the contest. North Texas
led 61-39 with just under 10 minutes left in the game.
Shin hit back-to-back three-pointers but North Texas led
73-47 with five minutes to play. The Mean Green would collect its third Sun
Belt win with ease and remain near the top of the conference standings.
ULM will play at Troy on Jan. 10 on the Sun Belt Network,
with tipoff scheduled for noon.
