MONROE, La. – Alayshia Hunter became ULM's 18th member of the 1,000-point club, but the Little Rock defense held up and defeated the Warhawks 53-37 in Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Thursday night.
Hunter's memorable score came as ULM's final points of the first half with 40 seconds remaining. Little Rock called a timeout on the ensuing possession and Hunter was recognized with a brief PA announcement and cheer from the crowd.
“I thought about it at the start of this year because my dad had calculated the points,” Hunter said. “But I didn't really think I was going to make it, especially this early in the season with seven more regular-season games left.”
The game began as a defensive struggle, with Little Rock holding just a 6-2 lead at the first quarter's halfway point. ULM eventually found itself down 11-4 at the first intermission. The Trojans scored 11 of the first 16 points in the following stanza to take a 22-9 lead.
“As we have been talking about all week, it doesn't have to be pretty,” head coach Jeff Dow said. “If we can just get five more boards and hold them to five fewer, maybe the score is 47-45. It's not pretty to watch, but we can at least give ourselves a chance.”
ULM (9-13, 3-10 SBC) found itself in a similar situation when the two teams met in Little Rock on Jan. 9, but the Warhawks were able to stay within striking distance through the third quarter with a 14-12 advantage.
The Trojans (11-11, 9-4 SBC) instead outscored the home team 17-6 in that same period to go up 46-21 heading into the final 10 minutes. They were led by Kaitlyn Pratt's 20 points off the bench.
ULM will have another opportunity against the Natural State on Saturday when the Arkansas State Red Wolves come to town. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.
Inside (and beyond) the Box Score
-Hunter (1,003 points) is now 23 points away from catching Michelle Biley (2002-06) for the No. 17 spot on ULM's all-time scoring list.
-ULM recorded nine steals on the heels of having 10 at Appalachian State. The squad has recorded eight or more in 10 games on the year.
-The Trojans shot just 2-for-13 from behind the arc. Opponents have made just 32 of their last 134 deep ball attempts (23.9 percent) against ULM since Jan. 14, excluding Texas State's 7-for-8 third quarter on Jan. 30.
-ULM gave up just seven points in the fourth quarter, its best defensive performance since giving up three in the third quarter against LSU-Alexandria (Dec. 19).
-Chelsea Tieuel played 36 minutes, tying a career-high.
-Stephanie Ratliff had two blocks in 12 minutes. She has 17 in 19 games on the season despite playing just 7.5 minutes per game.
