ULM Warhawks

MOBILE, Ala. - The ULM Warhawks open a three-game road swing Saturday afternoon at South Alabama. The Warhawks are 2-12 overall and 0-3 in Sun Belt play after Wednesday's 72-65 loss to Troy, despite a career-high 19 points and five 3-pointers from Whitney Goins. South Alabama enters at 6-9 overall and 1-2 in the Sun Belt after a 73-68 loss to the Ragin' Cajuns. TIp-off is set for 4 p.m.

PROJECTED STARTERS (based on previous game)

#1 Amber Thompson, G, 5-9, Sr.: 10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.2 apg
#2 Gara Beth Self, G, 5-8, Fr.: 5.4 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.9 apg
#4 Kierra Crockett, F, 6-0, Jr.: 6.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg
#11 Whitney Goins, G/F, 6-0, Jr.: 6.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg
#24 Diamond Brooks, C, 6-2, Jr.: 8.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg

STARTING FIVE

1. Junior guard/forward Whitney Goins had a career-night on Wednesday against Troy. Goins scored a career-high 19 points while knocking down a career-best five 3-pointers. Goins hit four of her treys in the fourth quarter, including back-to-back treys to cut Troy's lead from 12 to six. Goins finished 5-for-11 from 3-point range. She also grabbed two rebounds, handed out one assist and blocked two shots.

2. Senior guard Amber Thompson has continued to emerge as a top scoring threat. Thompson picked up her fourth straight double-figure game on Wednesday vs. Troy with 14 points. Thompson tallied a career-high 21 points to go along with a season-high eight rebounds on Dec. 29 vs. Mississippi Valley. Thompson also matched a season-high with four assists and set a new season-high with three steals. On Jan. 2, Thompson led the Warhawks with a game-high 18 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter at Georgia Southern. She scored 13 points at Georgia State on Jan. 4. Thompson has raised her scoring average by 2.7 points over the last four games.

3. Junior forward Kierra Crockett started fast in Wednesday's game vs. Troy. Crockett scored 10 points in the first quarter and finished with 12 points for her third double-figure scoring performance of the season. Crockett also tracked down a team-high eight rebounds. Crockett also had 14 points vs. Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 24 and a 13-point, 11-rebound double double vs. Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 29.

4. Freshman point guard Gara Beth Self continues to settle into the starting point guard role, replacing injured senior Lauren Fitch. Self played nearly 36 minutes against Troy's pressure defense, scoring 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting while handing out five assists to four turnovers. Since taking over as the starting point guard vs. Mississippi Valley, Self is averaging 6.3 points and 4.0 assists per game, and has a 1.1 assist to turnover ratio. She is also averaging 1.3 steals per game in that span.

5. Scoring droughts continue to plague the Warhawks. ULM minimized the spurts vs. Troy, but still suffered through a drought of 5:17 to open the second half vs. the Trojans. Troy used that drought to score the first 10 points of the half, claiming a lead that they would not relinquish. After sputtering late in the second, third and fourth quarters at Georgia Southern, ULM struggled to close out the first half and score in the middle of the third quarter at Georgia State. Against Georgia State, Brooks scored on a layup to put ULM up 18-14 with 7:29 to play in the first half. Georgia State then went on a 13-0 run, and outscored the Warhawks 18-3 over the remainder of the half to lead 32-21 at halftime. In the third quarter, ULM went scoreless for 5:14, and was unable to take advantage of GSU's own 5:47 drought.

PREVIEWING SOUTH ALABAMA    

Wednesday's game is the 28th all-time meeting between ULM and South Alabama, with the Jaguars leading the series 18-9. USA is on a five-game winning streak in the series, dating back to Feb. 11, 2017. USA has won six of the last seven meetings, with ULM's lone win in the stretch coming on Feb. 25, 2016, when the Warhawks won 67-54 in Mobile.

Senior guard Shaforia Kines leads the Jaguars in scoring at 16.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Kines ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring. Kines comes into Saturday's game on a tear, scoring over 20 points in three straight games, including a pair of double doubles. Kines had 24 points and 11 rebounds against Appalachian State on Jan. 2, and then added a 20 point and career-high 15 rebounds against the Ragin' Cajuns on Thursday. Kines has scored in double figures 12 times this season, and has topped the 20-point mark six times. She also hands out 2.9 assists per game, ranking eighth in the SBC.

Junior guard Savannah Jones ranks second on the South Alabama squad in scoring at 13.8 points per game, good for seventh in the Sun Belt. Jones is a 3-point sharpshooter, knocking down over 44% of her attempts last season. This year, she is shooting 33% from deep, but has six games with at least three 3-pointers. Jones has scored in double figures in 12 games, including the last four games. She has three 20-plus point efforts, including a season-high of 25 at East Tennessee State on Dec. 20.

Inside, the Jaguars feature preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Antoinette Lewis. The junior center is averaging a double double, sitting at 13.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Lewis leads the Sun Belt in rebounding, is second in blocked shots at 2.2 per game, and sits ninth in scoring. Lewis has nine double figure scoring games on the season, including four games of at least 20 points, and a career-high of 36 points vs. Mobile on Feb. 26. Lewis has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in 10 games, and has tallied seven double doubles on the year.