MONROE, La. – The ULM women's basketball team was unable to recover from frigid shooting in the first half, falling to Southern Miss, 57-42, Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
After a bucket from freshman Gara Beth Self 16 seconds into the game, the Warhawks managed just two more field goals for the remainder of the first half. Southern Miss steadily pulled away in the half, leading by as much as 21 before leading by 20 at the break, 29-9.
"I thought we got some good looks near the rim in the first probably nine to 11 minutes," head coach Brooks Donald Williams said. "We probably missed eight right near the rim. That's tough against any team, much less a pretty good one. I think we were even surprised at how easily we got some of those looks, and we just didn't finish them."
The Warhawk offense picked up in the second half, but it wasn't enough. ULM used a 12-2 run midway through the third quarter to cut the deficit down to 16 at 37-21. Senior Lauren Fitch found her mark from the floor, capping the run with a traditional 3-point play with 5:33 to go in the quarter. However, Southern Miss held the Warhawks scoreless for the remainder of the quarter, pushing the lead back out to 23 at 44-21 going to the fourth quarter.
Early in the final quarter, ULM went on an 8-0 run with junior Diamond Brooks and Fitch accounting for four points apiece to close within 15 at 46-31. However, Southern Miss would maintain its lead the rest of the way, securing a 57-42 victory.
"We knew they were going to apply pressure on the wings and on entries and really try to disrupt everything we were doing offensively," Williams said. "They did do that. There's no question about that. I think with this group, I hate to say a great learning experience, but it is. You have to cut at a different intensity level and get to your spots, which I thought we did at times in the second half."
Williams said her team improved defensively as well in the second half.
"I thought we did some things in the second half, just cranked up our energy," Williams said. "It was really good. There was a group out there with Kierra Crockett and Jamie Means, I thought they really did some good things defensively to get us energy on our bench and energy on the floor and it turned into points on the other end. We made a few changes, but not many, honestly, we just had some folks that gave us a little bit more."
Fitch led ULM with 13 points, while senior Amber Thompson pulled in a team-high seven rebounds. The Warhawks shot 30.8% in the game (16-of-52), while hitting 2-of-11 3-pointers (18.2%) and 8-of-15 free throws (53.3%). The Warhawks picked up 33 rebounds, handed out seven assists, tallied eight steals and gave up 20 turnovers.
Respect Leaphart paced Southern Miss with 13 points. Amber Landing had 12 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks. The Lady Eagles shot 39.3% from the field (24-of-61), 4-of-13 from 3-point range (30.8%) and 5-5 at the free throw line. USM had 41 rebounds, 16 assists, nine steals, eight blocks and 16 turnovers.
The Warhawks continue their three-game home stand at 6 p.m. Monday against Northwestern State at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Links to live video, audio and stats are available on the women's basketball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com. Buy one, get one tickets are available for Monday's game. Buy one ticket at regular price and get a second of equal value for free. For tickets, call 318-342-HAWK or visit ULMWarhawks.com.
