MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks return to Fant-Ewing Coliseum for one of their two home games in the month of January at 6 p.m.Wednesday night when they host Troy. The Warhawks are off to an 0-2 start in Sun Belt Conference play after falling at Georgia Southern and Georgia State, while Troy is 2-0 after defeating Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State.
PROJECTED STARTERS
#1
Amber Thompson, G, 5-9, Sr.: 10.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg
#2
Gara Beth Self, G, 5-8, Fr.: 4.9 ppg, 1.0 rpg
#4
Kierra Crockett, F, 6-0, Jr.: 5.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg
#11
Whitney Goins, G/F, 6-0, Jr.: 5.2 pgg, 3.0 rpg, 1.3 apg
#24
Diamond Brooks, C, 6-2, Jr.: 8.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg
STARTING FIVE
1. In Saturday's game at Georgia State, junior center
Diamond Brooks started strong, scoring 10 of her career-high 15 points in the first half. It marks just the fourth time in her career she has led the Warhawks in scoring. Brooks has scored in double figures in four of the last five games, and has been efficient on the offensive end. Brooks shot 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-3 at the free throw line at Georgia State. She scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting at Georgia Southern. Brooks has also tallied 14 points vs. Mississippi Valley and 12 at North Texas.
2. With senior point guard and leading scorer
Lauren Fitch sidelined with an injury, fellow senior guard
Amber Thompson has continued to emerge as a top scoring threat. Thompson picked up her third straight double-figure game on Saturday at Georgia State, scoring 13 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.
3. Sophomore
Maddi Gatte had her best scoring game since the season opener in Saturday's game at Georgia State. Gatte tallied seven points off the bench, including a 3-pointer early in the second quarter. Gatte scored 10 points in the season opener at Ole Miss, but had not scored more than three points in any of the next 10 games.
4. Scoring droughts continue to plague the Warhawks. 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.
5. Wednesday's game is one of just two home games for the Warhawks in the month of January. ULM will host Little Rock on Jan. 23. The Warhawks will play six of eight games in the month on the road before playing seven of their final 10 games at home in Feburary and March.
PREVIEWING TROY
Wednesday's game is the 24th all-time meeting between ULM and Troy, with the Trojans leading the series 13-10. Troy is on a five-game winning streak in the series, dating back to Feb. 27, 2016, when the Trojans beat ULM 74-64 in Troy. Troy has won six of the last seven meetings, with ULM's lone win in the stretch coming on Jan. 21, 2016, when the Warhawks won 77-73 at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Troy leads NCAA Division I in rebounding (55.8 rpg) and offensive rebounding (23.4 rpg). Troy ranks in the top three of the Sun Belt in numerous other stat categories. The Trojans rank first in scoring offense (81.2 ppg), rebounding margin (+14.2 rpg), defensive rebounds (32.5 rpg) and offensive rebound percentage (44.3%).
Junior guard Jasmine Robinson paces the Trojans at 13.3 points and 2.6 assists per game. Robinson has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and 10 of 13 games on the season. Robinson scored a season-high 25 points at Duke on Nov. 24, and handed out a season-high six assists vs. Jacksonville State on Nov. 16.
Senior guard Kayla Robinson has come off the bench in 10 of 13 games, but is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game. Robinson also averages 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Robinson has six double-figure games this year, but has topped 20 points three times, including a season-high 25 vs. Kent State in Las Vegas on Dec. 20. She has pulled in eight rebounds twice, doing so against Fort Valley State on Nov. 5 and Auburn-Montgomery on Dec. 4.
Senior forward Japonica James is the third Trojan to average more than 10 points per game, sitting at 10.3 points per game. James averages 4.4 rebounds per game and leads the team at 1.4 steals per game. James opened the season with a season-high 28 points vs. Fort Valley State, and has scored in double figures in three of the last five games.
On the glass, junior forward Alexus Dye leads Troy at 8.5 rebounds per game. Dye also averages 7.9 points per game. She has surpassed 10 rebounds three times, and has pulled in at least 14 rebounds in each of those three games. Dye has two double-doubles, scoring a season-high 21 points with 15 rebounds vs. Jacksonville State on Nov. 16, and also scoring 12 points with a season-best 16 rebounds at Mississippi State on Nov. 18.
