JONESBORO, Ark. – The ULM women's basketball played Arkansas State even for three-quarters of the game, but defensive lapses in the third quarter proved costly in a 76-62 loss in the Sun Belt opener for both teams on Friday, Dec. 29. 
 
A-State (6-6) jumped out to a 15-4 lead on Starr Taylor's jumper with 4:01 left in the first quarter. Arsula Clark accounted for six points as ULM closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run to pull to within 15-13 after 10 minutes. The Warhawks made their last four field-goal attempts and finished the first quarter, shooting 60 percent (6-of-10) from the field. The Red Wolves missed its last six shots from the floor and went scoreless for the final four minutes of the opening period.
 
There were four ties and four lead changes in the second quarter. ULM took its first lead at 18-16 on Clark's layup with 7:36 left in the first half. The Warhawks held a 26-25 edge when Carissa Moody converted 1-of-2 free-throw attempts with 3:00 remaining in the second quarter. A-State finished the first half with an 8-1 run, and a 3-pointer from Payton Tennison with 37 seconds left sent the Red Wolves to the locker room with a 33-27 lead.
 
A-State hit only 27 percent (12-of-44) of its field-goal attempts in the first half, including 2-of-13 from behind the 3-point arc, but outrebounded ULM, 27-19, including 16 offensive boards.
 
"We really played a decent first half, but Arkansas State led at halftime because of its offensive rebounding," ULM head basketball coach Jeff Dow said. "We've seen this act before as Arkansas State had 44 shot attempts in the first half.
 
"We shot 45 percent from the field, and we'll take that any day of the week. Arkansas State shot 27 percent (from the floor) in the first half, yet we were still behind at halftime. Only down six, we were still encouraged."
 
ULM cut its deficit to 35-33 on Destini Lunsford's layup with 7:34 remaining in the third quarter. The Red Wolves responded with a 14-0 spurt to extend their lead to 49-33 on a layup by Akasha Westbrook. A-State broke the game open by hitting seven of its first nine shots from the floor in the third quarter. Another Westbrook layup gave the Red Wolves their largest lead at 53-35 with 3:15 to play in the period. Tan Walker canned a jumper as time expired in the third quarter as the Warhawks pulled to within 57-44. A-State connected on 83 percent (10-of-12) of its field-goal attempts in the decisive third quarter.
 
The Warhawks rallied to within 10 points at 64-54 on a layup by Gabriella Cortez with 4:33 left in fourth quarter but were unable to close the gap to single digits.
 
"We got off to a horrific start defensively in the third quarter, and it became too big of a hill to climb," Dow said. "Arkansas State had 72 shot attempts, compared to our 53. It's impossible to overcome 19 extra possessions. They're length and athleticism hurt us in the second half. Although we got down by 18 in the third quarter, our kids kept playing hard.
 
"Somehow, defense has to become important to our players. Our transition defense and defensive rebounding have to improve. We gave up too many layups in transition, some came after made baskets. The first bullet points are always to get back in transition and to block out.
 
"It's frustrating because we've seen this before," Dow continued. "At Rice, we did enough to hang around in the first half but really struggled in the third quarter. We have to find a way to come out of the locker room with more energy and effort, especially on the defensive end of the floor. At times, we had two, three and four freshmen on the floor at the same time, so we know there are going to be growing pains. We need to be willing to slug it out.
 
"We're a little discouraged because we felt like we had an opportunity to steal a conference game on the road. Arkansas State was picked to finished in the middle of the pack, and we felt like we had a chance to start league play with a road win."
 
Cortez and Clark combined for 39 points to pace the Warhawks. Cortez hit 8-of-16 shots from the field, including 3-of-7 3-pointers, en route to a team-high 22 points while Clark finished with 17. Whitney Goins contributed nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range and matched her season high with five rebounds.
 
"Offensively, there were some positives," Dow said. "Gabby (Cortez) scored 22 points and had only one turnover in 38 minutes. Arsula Clark had a good all-around game with 17 points and six rebounds. We must find a way to get more balanced scoring.
 
"Whitney (Goins) hit some threes late and was active on the boards. We've really been encouraging her to be more aggressive in pursuing rebounds."
 
Lauren Bradshaw scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Red Wolves. A-State also got 17 points from Westbrook and 10 from Tahlon Hopkins.
 
The Red Wolves finished with 24 offensive rebounds while outrebounding ULM, 45-32. A-State also scored 24 points off 23 Warhawk turnovers.
 
The Warhawks conclude the first weekend of Sun Belt play at Little Rock on Sunday, Dec. 31, with tipoff set for 2 p.m.