ARLINGTON, Texas – ULM's best defensive effort of the season was not enough in a 40-32 loss to UT Arlington inside the College Park Center on Saturday night.
“The defensive effort was there,” head coach Jeff Dow said. “Any game where you hold a team to 40 points on their home floor, you have to find a way to win.”
ULM (9-16, 3-13 SBC) went on a 12-0 run over a 5:11 span between the first and second quarters. Journee Beard picked off a pass and went coast-to-coast for the layup to make it a 15-10 game with 8:31 left.
Stephanie Ratliff was everything for ULM right before the halftime break. She got an easy put-back after a missed three-pointer, then came down on the other end for her fourth blocked shot of the day. Ratliff beat the buzzer on a layup attempt on the next possession and drew a foul, where she sank both shots with six-tenths of a second remaining.
Amara Wainwright's jumper with four minutes remaining gave UTA a 39-31 lead, its largest of the game.
UTA (13-12, 8-7 SBC) had 10 straight points after Chelsea Tieuel nailed a three-pointer and drew a charge on consecutive possessions early in the game.
ULM continues its long road swing with a 5 p.m. Thursday game at South Alabama.
Inside (and beyond) the Box Score
-ULM allowed just seven three-point attempts (two makes), tying a season-low (LSU had seven on Nov. 15).
-The team's nine blocks tied a record in the Jeff Dow era (versus Appalachian State, Valentine's Day in 2015).
-Ratliff blocked seven shots, two off the school record set by Cassandra Barker 24 years ago to the day. It's the most by a Warhawk since Nedra Winston had seven against North Texas on Feb. 10, 2007.
-Alayshia Hunter moved into 17th place all-time on ULM's scoring list. She passed Michelle Biley (2002-06) during Saturday's game. Her former teammate, Ashleigh Simmons (2010-14), is next with 1,040 points.
-Hunter also had a career-high five steals.
