MONROE, La. – The ULM women's basketball program concluded its home schedule with a 91-87 victory over Troy Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Warhawks (11-17, 7-9 SBC) outscored the Trojans (11-17, 7-9 SBC) 13-10 over the final 3:40 to secure the four point victory. After seven ties and 16 lead changes, the Warhawks finally grabbed a 79-78 lead with 3:18 remaining and held on to beat the Trojans.
Seniors Alexar and Elexar Tugler paced the ULM offense with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Jasmine Shaw, Christina Gray and Sharnice Brooks added 12 apiece to cap the double-digit scoring. Ashleigh Simmons brought down a game-high 11 rebounds.
As a team, ULM was 17-of-24 at the free throw line, including 15-of-19 in the second half. The Warhawks' bench also outscored the Trojans' reserves, 33-10
ULM opened the game on a 6-2 run over the first three-and-a-half minutes of action before Troy took their first lead of the game at 7-6 thanks to a 5-0 spurt of their own.
The two teams battled back and forth and with 3:22 to play in the opening half the game was tied at 32-32.
The Trojans were able to take a 44-38 lead into the locker room at intermission as the visitors used a 12-6 run to close the half.
In the first 20 minutes, the two teams were nearly even in field goal shooting as ULM shot 40.5% from the floor (17-42), while Troy was at an even 40.0% (14-35). Troy shot 12-of-13 at the line (92.3%) in the opening period, compared to ULM's 2-for-5 mark (40.0%).
The Warhawks began the second half by cutting the Trojan lead to just two at the 18:51 mark when Alexar Tugler hit a lay-up. The back-and-forth action would continue until the 16:37 mark when Shaw's jumper tied the game at 48.
Troy remained on top by as much as eight, leading 65-57 at the 10:18 mark, but an 8-0 ULM spurt spawned by excellent free throw shooting drew the game even at 65 with 8:19 to go.
The Trojans responded with a 10-5 rally to gain a five point advantage with 5:19 remaining in the contest, however a long-range three from Alexar Tugler followed by a lay-up by Sharnice Brooks tied the game for the seventh and final time. Alexar Tugler then hit a jump shot with 4:09 to go to give the Warhawks a 77-75 lead.
Troy's Joanna Harden, who tallied a game-high 30 points, hit a lay-up with 3:40 remaining to put her squad back on top, however ULM answered just 22 seconds later with a lay-up by Christina Gray to give the Warhawks a 79-78 lead. ULM held on
ULM will hit the road for its final two contests of the season beginning with a Wednesday night tilt at Arkansas State (7:05 p.m.), followed by a Saturday afternoon tilt at UALR (4:30 p.m.).
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.
