MONROE, La. – A career-night from Sharnice Brooks earned the senior a double-double, but it was not enough to lift the ULM women's basketball team over Troy as it dropped an 82-77 decision Thursday night in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Brooks scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds for the Warhawks (5-9, 1-4 SBC).
ULM held the Trojans (9-5, 4-1 SBC) to 22.2 percent from the field in the first half, but the visiting team finished the night shooting 41.9 percent.
Daja Chase contributed 12 points, a career-high seven rebounds, two steals and one assist on the evening, while Christina Gray snatched a career-high 12 rebounds and collected five assists, four points and one steal.
Lacey Buchanon had a team-high 19 points for the Trojans.
A layup by Jade Wharton started the scoring to put the Warhawks up, but Troy's Ashley Beverly-Kelley matched the bucket for a 2-2 score with 18:04 left in the half.
Brooks then landed two free throws to start a 9-1 run by the home team, giving ULM an 11-6 lead with 14:18 remaining in the half.
Trojan Beverly-Kelley hit a three-pointer, followed by a field goal from Caitlyn Ramirez, to cut the Warhawks' lead to three, but Brooks used a layup to spark another 8-0 run from the home team for their largest lead of the half at 19-8 with 10:07 left before the break.
Troy used a 7-2 run of their own to cut the advantage to six points (23-17), but the run was cut off when Journee Beard nailed a three-pointer to give the Warhawks 26-19 lead with 4:05 left in the half.
The Trojans attempted to make a comeback and cut the advantage five points, but ULM ended the half on a 7-0 run capped with a jumper by Brooks for a 33-21 lead heading into the locker room.
Troy began the second half on a 14-4 run to leave the Warhawks clinging to a 37-35 lead with 15:31 to play.
The Trojans then used back-to-back field to take their first lead of the game (41-38) with 13:55 left in the game before a Wharton three-pointer helped the home team re-gain a one-point lead.
There were then five ties and four lead changes over a four-minute span of time before Jasmine Taylor nailed a shot from beyond the arc to give the Warhawks a six-point lead (60-54) with 8:01 remaining.
Troy took a 63-62 advantage with 5:40 left, but the lead changed four times in 53 seconds as each team battled for the lead. Gray would hit the last bucket in that stretch to give ULM a 66-65 lead.
A layup from Wharton and two free throws from Beard helped the home team take a 70-69 advantage with 3:18 remaining, but the Trojans closed on a 10-5 run in the last 1:12 of the game to take home the victory.
ULM hosts their second game of the week on Saturday as they take on UALR at 2:00 p.m. in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
