SAN MARCOS, Texas - The ULM Warhawks play the middle game of a three-game road swing at 7 p.m. Thursday at Texas State. The Warhawks and Bobcats are the only two remaining winless teams in Sun Belt Conference play. ULM dropped Saturday's game at South Alabama, 72-63, while Texas State fell in overtime at Appalachian State, 73-65.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP (based on previous game)
#1
Amber Thompson, 5-9, Sr., G: 11.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.2 apg
#2
Gara Beth Self, 5-8, Fr., G: 6.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.9 apg
#11
Whitney Goins, 6-0, Jr., G/F: 6.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.3 apg
#4
Kierra Crockett, 6-0, Jr., F: 6.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg
#24
Diamond Brooks, 6-2, Jr., C: 8.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg
STARTING FIVE
1. Freshman point guard
Gara Beth Self continues to settle in to the starting role. Self took over the starting point guard duties after senior
Lauren Fitch suffered an injury at Texas Tech on Dec. 22. Self scored a career-high 18 points in Saturday's game at South Alabama. Self finished 7-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Self had only connected on four 3-pointers on the season prior to Saturday's game. Since taking over the starting point guard role, Self is averaging 8.6 points, 1.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game. She also has a 1.1 assist to turnover ratio.
2. Senior guard
Amber Thompson has scored in double figures in a career-best five consecutive games. Thompson has developed into ULM's top offensive threat after the injury to Fitch. Thompson matched Self with a game-high 18 points on Saturday at South Alabama. In the five games since Fitch's injury, Thompson is averaging 16.8 points per game while playing 35.0 minutes per game. In the nine games Thompson played alongside Fitch this season, Thompson averaged 7.8 points per game.
3. Junior forward
Kierra Crockett started fast in the second straight game on Saturday. Crockett scored the first six points of the game for ULM at South Alabama after scoring 10 first-quarter points vs. Troy on Wednesday. Crockett tallied her second double-double of the year Saturday afternoon, posting 11 points and 13 rebounds. It marks the fourth time this season Crockett has tallied double-digit rebounds.
4. The Warhawks scored more than 60 points in consecutive games for just the second time this season. ULM scored 65 points at home vs. Troy on Wednesday before following it up with 63 points at South Alabama on Saturday. ULM also scored over 60 points in consecutive games vs. McNeese State and Houston Baptist on Dec. 1 and Dec. 7.
5. ULM has lost 10 straight games played in the state of Texas. The Warhawks lost games earlier this season at North Texas and Texas Tech. ULM last picked up a win in Texas on Dec. 21, 2016, when they defeated Houston Baptist, 77-65.
PREVIEWING TEXAS STATE
Thursday's game is the 55th all-time meeting between the Warhawks and Bobcats, with ULM holding a 31-23 advantage in the series. The two teams have met as members of both the Southland and Sun Belt Conferences. Out of the 54 previous meetings between the two programs, only five are classified as non-conference games. The two squads were each in the Southland Conference from 1988 to 2006 and have been together in the Sun Belt since Texas State joined the league prior to the 2013-14 season.
Texas State is one of the top defensive teams in the Sun Belt. The Bobcats rank second in the conference in scoring defense at 61.1 points per game and fifth in field goal percentage defense at 38.5%.
The Bobcats are also one of the leading teams in the Sun Belt in assists, steals and turnover margin. Texas State ranks second in the SBC at 13.5 assists per game, second in steals at 9.1 per game, second in assist to turnover ratio at 0.9 and third in turnover margin at +2.8.
Sophomore forward Da'Nasia Hood leads Texas State in scoring, averaging 12.3 points. Hood is also second on the Bobcats at 5.5 rebounds per game. Hood has scored in double figures 10 times this season, including each of the last three games. Hood tallied a career-high 23 points at Coastal Carolina on Thursday. She pulled in a career-high 14 rebounds vs. Alcorn on Dec. 30. Hood can also step outside and shoot the 3-pointer, knocking down multiple treys in three straight games. Hood matched a season-high with four 3-pointers on Saturday at Appalachian State.
Senior guard Brooke Holle is second on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game, and leads the Bobcats in rebounding at 5.7 boards per game. Holle has also tallied 30 steals on the season along with 28 assists. Holle has scored in double figures six times, including a pair of 20-plus point games. She scored a season-high 22 points vs. Little Rock on Jan. 2. Holle ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference in free throw percentage at 83.3%. Holle is one of two Bobcats, along with junior guard Avionne Alexander, to start all 15 games this season.
Sophomore guard Kennedy Taylor is the third Bobcat averaging double figures on the season, posting 10.1 points per game. She leads Texas State and the Sun Belt Conference with 5.4 assists per game. Taylor has eight double-figure scoring games, including four of the last five contests. She posted a career-high 22 points vs. UTSA on Dec. 4. Taylor matched a career-high with 10 assists on Thursday at Coastal Carolina. Â
