MONROE, La. -- Despite a 20-point, 10-rebound effort by Ashleigh Simmons and 19 points from Elexar Tugler, the ULM women's basketball team fell to Western Kentucky, 77-73, Wednesday night inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
ULM (7-11, 3-3) opened the second half with a jumper by Elexar Tugler to push the lead to 13 points (44-31) with 19:34 to play.
WKU (12-5, 4-2) was able to chip away at the Warhawk lead and eventually took a 57-56 lead with 8:38 to play in the final stanza. The one-point lead by the Lady Toppers was their first lead since a 7-5 lead with 17:07 to play in the first half.
The Warhawks took a four-point lead (62-58) with 5:26 to play as Simmons was successful on a layup in the paint. WKU took the lead for good as Kendall Noble hit a pair of free throws with 3:37 to play.
ULM closed the gap to one point twice in the final minutes but could not get over the hump in the heartbreaking loss.
Aside from Simmons' 20 points and Elexar Tugler's 19 points, Alexar Tugler also reached double-figures with 13 points.
Chastity Gooch paced the Lady Toppers with 31 points.
The two teams traded baskets over the first four minutes of the first half and ULM and WKU were tied at 9-9 with 15:56 showing on the clock. Seven of ULM's first nine points in the opening minutes came from Simmons as she hit three layups and one free throw. Jasmine Shaw hit the other basket for the Warhawks.
The two teams continued to battle back-and-forth and the Warhawks held a one point lead (20-19) with 8:57 to play after WKU's Ilena Johnson hit a three-pointer to trim the ULM lead. After Johnson's triple the Warhawks used a 9-0 spurt to take a 29-19 lead with 5:32 to play in the opening half. Alexar Tugler and Elexar Tugler combined for six of the nine points during the run.
WKU responded with a 10-3 run to close the gap to three points (32-29) with 2:34 remaining. The Lady Toppers hit a pair of three pointers during the run.
ULM closed the half on a 10-2 run and the home club carried an 11-point lead (42-21) into the locker room at the break.
The Warhawks shot 51.6% (16-31) from the floor in the first 20 minutes and held a 20-6 advantage in points in the paint. ULM also held a 10-rebound advantage at 25-15.
ULM will return to action Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when it hosts Sun Belt Conference newcomer Georgia State. Following the game the ULM athletic department will retire E.J. (Lee) Ok's jersey.
For updates throughout the season on the ULM Women's Basketball team, be sure to follow the squad on twitter @ULM_WBB.
Support the Warhawks through participation in the Athletic Foundation, join the ULMAF by calling 318-342-5415. Be sure to cheer on your Warhawks in person; to purchase tickets, please call 318-342-3ULM or visit the athletic ticket homepage.
