ULM Warhawks

LAFAYETTE, La. - The ULM Warhawks return to the road to face off with the rival Ragin' Cajuns at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Cajundome. The Warhawks have lost back-to-back games after falling at home to Little Rock on Thursday night, 70-50. The Ragin' Cajuns have won four of their last five games after cruising past Arkansas State, 83-43, on Thursday night in Lafayette.

PROJECTED STARTERS (based off previous game)

#2 Gara Beth Self, Fr., 5-8, G: 7.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 2.1 apg
#10 Maddi Gatte, So., 5-9, G: 2.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg
#11 Whitney Goins, Jr., 6-0, G/F: 5.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg
#4 Kierra Crockett, Jr., 6-0, F: 6.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg
#24 Diamond Brooks, Jr., 6-2, C: 8.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg

STARTING FIVE

1. Freshman point guard Gara Beth Self continues to develop in her role with the Warhawks. Self has started eight consecutive games at point guard, and her scoring production has increased over the last five games. In seven Sun Belt Conference games, Self is averaging 12.3 points and 3.0 assists per game. Self has scored in double figures in five straight games, including a career-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 4-of-5 3-point shooting and 4-of-4 free throw shooting at Texas State on Jan. 16. Self followed it up with a team-high 15 points on Saturday at UT Arlington, and once again led the team with 14 points on Thursday vs. Little Rock.

2. Senior guard Amber Thompson sat out Thursday's game due to illness. Thompson is ULM's leading scorer since the start of Sun Belt Conference play, averaging 14.2 points per game. She scored in double figures in each of the first six conference games.

3. With Thompson out of the lineup on Thursday, ULM counted on others to step up. Junior center Diamond Brooks joined Self in double figures with 11 points and also pulled in seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Maddi Gatte picked up her third career start, and first since the second game of the season at Tennessee Tech, and responded with nine points and four rebounds.

4. Junior forward Kierra Crockett made her presence known on the glass Thursday night, pulling down 10 rebounds. Crockett has five double-figure rebounding games this season.

5. Saturday's game in Lafayette marks ULM's sixth road game in the first eight Sun Belt Conference games. After Saturday's game, ULM will return to Fant-Ewing Coliseum for seven of the final 10 games of the regular season, including a five-game homestand covering the middle portion of February.

PREVIEWING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS

Saturday's game is the 58th meeting between the Warhawks and Ragin' Cajuns. ULM dominated the series until the 2015 season, winning 40 of the first 47 meetings. The Ragin' Cajuns have reversed the series since 2015, winning 10 straight meetings entering Saturday, including a 52-45 win in Lafayette and a 55-52 win in Monroe last season.

The Cajuns stack up well statistically with the rest of the Sun Belt Conference. The Cajuns rank first in turnover margin (+4.4 per game), second in 3-point field goal percentage (34.0%) and steals (8.9), third in the Sun Belt in scoring defense (62.4 points per game), field goal percentage (39.7%) and free throw percentage (70.9%) and fourth in scoring offense (66.6 points per game) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.9%).

Junior center Ty'reona Doucet leads the Ragin' Cajuns in scoring at 12.8 points per game and rebounding at 7.5 rebounds per game. Doucet has scored in double figures nine times this season, including a season-high 22 points at Texas State on Saturday. Doucet has three double-doubles on the season, and also pulled down 18 rebounds vs. South Alabama on Jan. 9. Doucet ranks fifth in the Sun Belt Conference in blocks (1.1 per game), sixth in defensive rebounds (5.2 per game), seventh in rebounding and 11th in scoring.

Sophomore guard Brandi Williams is second on the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game. Williams has scored in double figures in 10 games, including three straight games. She poured in a season-high 25 points to go with nine rebounds in a win over Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 17. Williams is shooting 38.6% from 3-point range, and has four games in which she has made three treys. Williams ranks fourht in the Sun Belt in free throw percentage (83.5%) and 12th in scoring.

Junior guard/forward Skyler Goodwin is third on the team in scoring at 9.1 points per game, but has elevated her play since the start of Sun Belt Conference action. Goodwin is averaging 11.3 points per game in Sun Belt play. Goodwin has five double-figure scoring games, with four coming inside of SBC play. She scored a season-high 20 points at Texas State on Saturday. Goodwin ranks third in the Sun Belt in free throw percentage (85.4%). 

Sophomore guard Andrea Cournoyer leads the Cajuns at 2.6 assists per game. Cournoyer is also averaging 6.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Since the start of Sun Belt play, Cournoyer is averaging 4.0 assists per game, and has four games with at least five assists. Cournoyer ranks eighth in the Sun Belt in steals (1.8 per game) and 12th in assists.