MONROE, La. -
Leading ULM is sophomore guard
Arsula Clark, who tallied her fourth 20-plus point scoring effort on Thursday night. Clark scored exactly 20 points, with 15 coming in the second half. While struggling to a 6-of-15 shooting night, Clark made up for it at the free throw line, going 8-of-13. She narrowly missed a second straight double-double, and fourth of the season, with nine rebounds.
Sophomore forward
Diamond Brooks made her presence known in a second consecutive game. After matching her season-high with seven points last Saturday at Lafayette, Brooks crashed the boards Thursday at Troy. Brooks hauled in a career-high 11 rebounds, with six on the offensive end. Brooks had already set her new career high by halftime, with eight of the 11 rebounds coming in the first half. She also finished 3-of-4 from the floor for six points. She is six-of-seven shooting over the last two games combined.
ULM lost its third straight game on Thursday, falling 78-56 at Troy. The Trojans opened the game on an 8-0 run. The Trojans built a 13-point lead by the end of the first quarter, leading 22-9. ULM would get no closer than nine points, at 35-26 with 9:51 left in the third quarter, for the remainder of the game. The Warhawks' loss dropped them to 7-10 overall, 1-5 in Sun Belt play.
Despite offensive struggles, ULM continues to excel defensively. The Warhawks are second in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense (58.9 points per game) while ranking second in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.5) and third in field goal percentage defense (37.6 percent).
The Jaguars improved to 15-3 on the season and 4-3 in Sun Belt Conference play Thursday with an 83-60 win over the Ragin' Cajuns in Mobile. South Alabama is 6-2 at the Mitchell Center this season, with losses to Arkansas State and Little Rock.
Junior guard Shaforia Kines leads the Jaguars in scoring at 14.3 points per game. She's followed by the inside post presence of sophomore Antoinette Lewis at 14.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Savannah Jones is third at 13.4 points per game, while freshman guard Damaya Telemaque averages 10.0 points per game.
The last time the two teams met was in the Warhawks' final match of the 2017-18 campaign. Antoinette Lewis scored a game-high 20 points and led four players in double figures as South Alabama earned an 80-54 victory over ULM in the opening round of the 2018 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship on March 7.
Saturday's game is the 27th all-time meeting between the Warhawks and Jaguars. The two teams met seven times as non-conference opponents before ULM joined the Sun Belt Conference prior to the 2006-07 season. South Alabama has won four straight games in the series and five of the last six meetings.
HawkTalk with ULM head women's basketball coach
Jeff Dow and head men's basketball coach
Keith Richard airs Mondays from 12-1 p.m. on SportsTalk 97.7, live from Geaux Wings (3600 Desiard Street, Suite 4, in Monroe). Warhawk women's basketball play-byplay announcer
Mike Hammett and men's basketball play-by-play announcer
Nick White serve as hosts for this live show that features insight from the two head coaches along with phone calls.
