HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- ULM
(10-20, 7-13) never trailed Friday afternoon and defeated Florida Atlantic (12-17, 9-11), 70-63, and advances to face
Middle Tennessee on Saturday at noon.
ULM collected its third all-time Sun Belt Championship victory while winning its third straight.
Alexar Tugler and Ashleigh Simmons led the Warhawks with
double-doubles. Simmons collected her 10th such performance with 15 points and
10 rebounds while Tugler did it for a second time with 12 points and 11
rebounds.
Elexar Tugler finished with 12 points and Jasmine Shaw
chipped in 12. Breana Turner led all scorers with 25 points.
The Warhawks started strong leading 4-0 with 17:30 and
followed by forcing a shot-clock violation. Alexar Tugler's three-pointer gave
ULM a 9-2 lead at the 14-minute mark.
Florida Atlantic tied the game before Alayshia Hunter's
three-point play made it 12-9, Warhawks, with 12:30 left before the break. ULM led 18-15 with 7:53 remaining.
Another three from Alexar Tugler gave ULM a 21-15 lead with
6:30 on the clock. A prayer from Elexar Tugler banked in to beat the shot clock
and give the Warhawks a 23-19 advantage.
At halftime, ULM led 28-23 powered by eight points from
Alexar Tugler to lead all scorers. Simmons collected seven first-half rebounds.
At the arrival of the first media timeout of the second
half, ULM led 34-27, with 15:42 remaining. Two free throws from Simmons gave
ULM a 38-30 lead at the 14-minute mark.
Jae Shin got into the action with a three-pointer from the
elbow to give ULM a double-digit lead, 46-36, with 10:20 left in the contest.
Shin hit another to give ULM a 55-42 lead with eight minutes remaining.
With 4:21 remaining, ULM led 59-49 as both teams began to
struggle from the floor. The Warhawks would control the final minutes and
collect the 70-63 win and advance to Saturday's second round.
ULM will now play top-seeded Middle Tennessee on Saturday at
noon inside Summit Arena.
