MONROE, La. - Houston Baptist limited the ULM women's basketball team to just eight fourth quarter points, as the Huskies rallied to beat the Warhawks 72-65 Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Huskies won the rebounding battle, picking up 47 rebounds to ULM's 27. HBU corralled 21 offensive rebounds in the game while ULM had 18 defensive rebounds.
"Houston Baptist dominated the boards the entire game, from tip to finish," ULM head coach
Brooks Donald Williams said. "We just got to do a better job of keeping people off the glass."
HBU jumped out to a 7-0 lead to open the game, but ULM immediately climbed back in the game. The first quarter featured back-and-forth scoring, with ULM shooting 8-for-10 from the floor and HBU at 10-of-20. The Warhawks took their first lead of the game on the final play of the quarter, as senior
Amber Thompson finished a 3-point play for the 25-24 advantage.
Both teams cooled from the field in the second quarter. HBU took a pair of brief one-point leads, but ULM went back in front each time. Sophomore
Linda van Schaik buried a 3-pointer to put the Warhawks back up 37-34. After Marilyn Nzoiwu answered for HBU, junior
Diamond Brooks picked up a 3-point play of her own to put the Warhawks up 40-37 at halftime.
In the third quarter, HBU tied the game at 45 before the Warhawks scored five straight points. Junior
Whitney Goins knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and van Schaik connected on back-to-back free throws to give ULM its largest lead of the afternoon at 50-45 with 3:29 left in the quarter. ULM would lead by five again at 52-47 on a bucket by sophomore
Sheniqua Coatney, but HBU would close within three by the end of the quarter at 57-54.
In the final frame. HBU scored the first four points to reclaim the lead at 58-57. ULM answered with two free throws by Fitch to lead 59-58, but a basket by Megan Valdez-Crader gave HBU the lead for good at 60-59 with 6:05 left. Thompson made a layup to keep the Warhawks within one at 64-63 with 4:25 to play, and Fitch would collect a layup with 1:55 left to cut the gap to 67-65, but HBU scored the final five points of the game to pull away for the 72-65 win.
"I thought we got great looks," Williams said. "We're consistently getting good looks at the basket. We're just not finishing very consistently. We've got to continue to get better daily at being more productive and efficient offensively."
Fitch led the Warhawks with 13 points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals. Coatney added a career-high 11 points and a career-best seven rebounds. Thompson also scored in double figures with 11 points. Valdez-Crader led HBU with a career-high 21 points while Timia Jefferson and N'Denasija Collins tallied 10 points each.
Williams said Coatney's career day was a positive in the game.
"Shaq's successful, especially when we're in an uptempo, pressing game," Williams said. "She's able to get her hands on some balls. She does a really good job in the dribble-drive. She's able to get some dump downs and finishes. I thought she did well today in all of those situations."
ULM shot 42.0% (21-of-50) from the field, 27.3% (3-of-11) from 3-point range and 66.7% (20-of-30) at the free throw line. The Warhawks had 27 rebounds, nine assists, 10 steals, three blocks and 21 turnovers. HBU shot 39.7% (25-of-63) from the field, 3-of-9 from 3-point range and 65.5% (19-of-29) from the free-throw line. The Huskies had 47 rebounds, 10 assists, 11 steals, one block and 21 turnovers.
The Warhawks are back in action at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Nicholls State. For Williams and the Warhawks, the next few weeks provide an opportunity to focus on basketball with the semester break here on the academic side.
"We'll have more time on the floor together," Williams said. "We've had some time restraints throughout the semester. Now we've got basketball full time. They'll be able to get in the gym and get shots up. We'll be able to watch film and grow as a team and do it full time."
Links to live audio and stats for the Nicholls State game are at ULMWarhawks.com.
