Lubbock, Texas - The ULM women's basketball team hung in early at Texas Tech, but the Red Raiders proved to be too much, pulling away for an 86-42 win over the Warhawks on Sunday at United Supermarkets Arena.
Head coach Jeff Dow said he was disappointed in the result.
"Disappointing in that we didn't show the same resiliency that we displayed just two days ago at SMU, especially on the defensive end and on the boards," Dow said.
"The first half came down to two runs at the end of each quarter," Dow said. "Fairly late in the first quarter we had a lead, but then they go on an 8-0 run to finish the quarter. We regrouped and steadied ourselves in the second, but then allowed them to finish the half on a 9-0 run."
In the first half, the Warhawks (0-2) played well early in each quarter, but struggled to close out the frame. ULM took the lead at 9-8 on a jumper by Lauren Fitch with 3:47 remaining in the quarter. However, the Warhawks would not score again in the quarter, as Texas Tech (2-0) closed the period on an 8-0 run to lead 16-9.
Again, in the second quarter, ULM battled tough for the first seven minutes of the quarter. The Warhawks pulled as close as five early in the quarter on a bucket by Arsula Clark to make it 16-11. After Tech pushed the lead to double digits, Logan Oestreich cut the deficit to 8 at 27-19 on a basket with 3:02 left before halftime. However, Tech again closed the quarter strong, holding ULM off the scoreboard the rest of the way while going on a 9-0 run to lead 36-19 at halftime.
The Red Raiders made it a 16-0 run as they scored the first seven points of the second half. Tech outscored ULM 28-16 in the third quarter and 22-7 in the fourth to pull away for the win.
"I think we allowed our struggles on the offensive end to affect us defensively and we started giving up some easy baskets in transition," Dow said. "When we're struggling on the offensive end, we've got to find a way to come up with some offensive rebounds and obviously buckle down defensively. One offensive rebound in the first half is not going to get it done."
Clark led ULM with seven points and 12 rebounds. Tiara Malone added six points. The Warhawks connected on just 30 percent of their shots and finished 4-for-16 from 3-point range. Texas Tech won the rebounding battle 51-32. The Red Raiders connected 46 percent of their shots and hit 10 3-pointers.
The Warhawks play their home opener at 11 a.m. Thursday against LSU-Alexandria at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. It is Field Trip Day, with a chance for area students to meet the 2018-19 Warhawk women's basketball team and cheerleaders. More information about Field Trip Day and links for video streaming and live stats are available on ulmwarhawks.com.
