ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - ULM heads to Prather Coliseum for a 1 p.m. matchup Saturday vs. Northwestern State. It is the 91st meeting between the Warhawks and Lady Demons, making it the most-played rivalry in ULM women's basketball history. The Warhawks have won the last two games in the series.

Junior guard Kierra Brimzy returns home for Saturday's game against Northwestern State. Brimzy's hometown is Natchitoches and she graduated from Natchitoches Central High School in 2017 before attending Tyler Junior College. Brimzy has led the Warhawks in scoring in each of her first two career games, scoring 15 points Sunday vs. Louisiana College and had 11 points Thursday vs. Grambling State.

Senior guard Whitney Goins has reached double figure scoring in two of ULM's first three games. Goins reached 10 points, with seven in the first quarter, Thursday against Grambling State. The Anacoco, Louisiana, native also scored 11 points at No. 16 Arkansas on Dec. 3. She has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in each of the last nine games.

ULM has won the rebounding battle in each of the last two games. The Warhawks outrebounded Louisiana College 58-29 on Sunday before topping Grambling on the glass 49-41 on Thursday. ULM is averaging 47.3 rebounds per game and 14.0 offensive rebounds per game. Senior forward Kierra Crockett averages 9.0 rebounds per game while freshman forward Tasionna McDowell averages 7.3 boards per game.

The Warhawks have blocked 14 shots through the first three games. ULM swatted nine shots in Sunday's win over Louisiana College and added three more against Grambling on Thursday.

Northwestern State will play its season and home-opener in Saturday's game against ULM. The Lady Demons have had three contests canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, delaying the debut of first-year head coach Anna Nimz.

The Lady Demons were 7-22 in 2019-20 and return six players from the club. Sophomore guard Tristen Washington appeared in 29 games with 14 starts last season, averaging 4.4 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. She shot 36% from 3-point range. Senior guard Nakaylis Washington played in 16 games, averaging 3.7 points and 23 rebounds per game. Senior guard Kalen Green made 25 appearances last season with one start, averaging 2.8 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Karyn Ford (1.4 ppg., 1.1 rpg.), sophomore center Julia Sion (1.2 ppg., 0.9 rpg) and sophomore forward Anessa Dussette (0.7 ppg., 0.3 ppg.) also return for the Lady Demons.

Northwestern State has six newcomers this season. Junior guards Alexia Marsh (Central Arizona) and Makayla VanNett (Hutchinson CC) join the team from the junior college ranks. Freshman guard Andreea Cojocariu and freshman center Claudia Vidal come to Northwestern State from Barcelona, Spain. Freshmen guards Erin Harris (West Haven, Connecticut) and Osha Cummings (Zachary, Louisiana) join the program as well.

CLEANING THE GLASS        
ULM came up with 49 rebounds Thursday against Grambling and pulled down 58 rebounds on Sunday against Louisiana College. Sunday's performance was the highest rebounding total for ULM in a single game since grabbing 63 boards against Centenary on Nov. 11, 2016. Freshmen Tasionna McDowell and Hannah Edwards led the Warhawks on the glass with 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively. McDowell had six offensive rebounds. On Thursday, senior Kierra Crockett and freshman Kyren Whittington had nine rebounds each.

ULM ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference and 16th in NCAA Division I in defensive rebounds per game (33.3 rpg.), second in the SBC and 26th nationally in rebounds per game (47.3 rpg.) and third in the conference and 39th nationally in rebounding margin per game (+10.0 rpg.).

CROCKETT CONTROLS THE BOARDS        
Senior Kierra Crockett collected a game-high 11 rebounds in 27 minutes in the season-opener at Arkansas. Crockett had nine defensive rebounds and two offensive rebounds in the contest. She followed it up with seven rebounds against Louisiana College, and nine more, including four offensive rebounds, against Grambling State. Crockett ranks seventh in the Sun Belt Conference and 97th nationally at 9.0 rebounds per game.

Crockett made an immediate impact in her first season at ULM in 2019-20. She started the final 25 games of the season and led the team with 6.5 rebounds per game. She had a pair of double-doubles with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Mississippi Valley State and 11 points and 13 rebounds at South Alabama. Crockett secured 10 or more rebounds in seven games. She ranked 10th in the Sun Belt Conference in rebounding. She is also known for posting social media videos showcasing her musical talent. Crockett took violin lessons while growing up and is a self-taught piano and guitar player.

BLOCK PARTY
The Warhawks came up with nine blocked shots on Sunday against Louisiana College. The Warhawks were led by senior Whitney Goins and freshman Hannah Edwards with three blocks each. Sophomores Linda van Schaik and Gara Beth Self and freshman Morgan Hill had the other blocks for ULM.

ULM tallied three more blocks against Grambling State Thursday. Hill, Self and Sadie Williams each tallied a swat against the Tigers.

The Warhawks rank second in the Sun Belt Conference and 56th in NCAA Division I in blocked shots per game (3.7 bpg.). Edwards ranks third in the SBC in blocks per game (1.33 bpg.) while Goins and Hill are part of a tie for fifth (1.00 bpg.).

BRIMZY SHINES IN ULM DEBUT    
Junior Kierra Brimzy made her ULM debut on Sunday vs. Louisiana College, leading the team with 15 points while adding a rebound and an assist. She once again led the Warhawks Thursday with 11 points, four rebounds and one assist. She sat out the 2019-20 season following a transfer from Tyler Junior College. The Natchitoches, Louisiana, native averaged 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists as a sophomore with the Apache Ladies in 2018-19. She averaged 13.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as a freshman in 2017-18. Brimzy was unavailable at Arkansas on Dec. 3 due to injury.

FROM DOWNTOWN    
Senior Whitney Goins had a strong start to the 2020-21 season from deep, hitting 3-of-6 attempts from long distance and finishing with a team-high 11 points at Arkansas. She added six points, including a 3-pointer, against Louisiana College. Goins reached double figures again with 10 points, including a pair of treys, vs. Grambling. She has connected on at least one 3-pointer in nine straight games. Goins ranks fifth in the Sun Belt Conference in 3-point field goal percentage (40.0%) and seventh in 3-point field goals per game (2.0 pg.).

Last year, Goins paced the Warhawks from 3-point range. Goins shot a career-best 33.1% from behind the arc last season and knocked down 45 3-pointers. She set a career-high with five 3-pointers, including four in the fourth quarter, against Troy on Jan. 8. She was one of two Warhawks with more than 10 3-point field goal attempts to shoot over 30 percent from deep on the season (Amber Thompson, 30.1%).

BALANCE RULES THE DAY VS. LOUISIANA COLLEGE    
ULM had five players score in double figures and three more just missed out on a double figure day in Sunday's 96-48 win over Louisiana College. Junior Kierra Brimzy paced the Warhawks with 15 points, while senior Diamond Brooks and sophomore Linda van Schaik had 11 points apiece and freshmen Morgan Hill and Kyren Whittington added 10 points. Sophomore Gara Beth Self had nine points, while freshmen Tasionna McDowell and Sadie Williams chipped in eight points. It is the first time ULM has had five double figure scorers since a 93-62 win over LSU-Alexandria on Nov. 15, 2018 (Tiara Malone 24, Amber Thompson 17, Destini Lunsford 12, Logan Oestreich 11, Whitney Goins 10). All 12 players that suited up for Sunday's game scored for the Warhawks.

HOT SHOTS    
The Warhawks shot 50.0% from the field (31-of-62) in Sunday's win over Louisiana College. It is the first time ULM has topped 50% or better from the field since shooting 55% from the floor in a win at Coastal Carolina on March 2, 2019.

FREEBIES
ULM stepped to the free throw line 39 times on Sunday and knocked down 31 free throws for a 79.5% rate from the stripe. The 39 free throw attempts matches last season's high of 39 attempts vs. Mississippi Valley State (12/29/19). The 31 made free throws are the most made in a single game by ULM over the past two seasons. Freshman Kyren Whittington is one of 49 qualifying players nationally to make all of her free throws this season (12-for-12).

FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Six freshmen have seen minutes early in the season for ULM. Hannah Edwards, Morgan Hill, Tasionna McDowell, Kyren Whittington, Gracen Williams and Sadie Williams each picked up at least 12 minutes against Louisiana College, and all six made their season debuts at Arkansas on Thursday. Through three games, Whittington leads the freshmen at 6.7 points per game. McDowell has 7.3 rebounds per game. Edwards is averaging 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Gracen Williams is averaging 4.0 points and 4.0 assists per game.

SELF IMPROVEMENT 
Sophomore Gara Beth Self saw her numbers drastically improve after taking over the starting point guard position for the remainder of the 2019-20 season in the final non-conference game of the year vs. Mississippi Valley State. Self was handed the reigns after senior point guard Lauren Fitch suffered a season-ending injury at Texas Tech. Self flourished inside of Sun Belt Conference play, averaging 12.8 points and 2.5 assists over 34.5 minutes per game. She scored in double figures in 12 of 18 conference games, including an eight-game streak from Jan. 8 to Feb. 5. Self scored a career-high 28 points on the strength of 5-of-11 3-point shooting and added two rebounds, three assists and five steals at then-Sun Belt leading Coastal Carolina on Feb. 27. Self was named Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention All-Louisiana by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

DIAMOND IN THE POST
Senior Diamond Brooks saw a significant increase in her role in the post in 2019-20. Brooks moved into the full-time starting center position, playing in all 29 games while starting 28 last season. She nearly tripled her scoring average to 8.0 points per game while increasing her rebounding average by 2.3 boards per game to 5.9. Brooks averaged 26.0 minutes per game as a junior after averaging just 13.9 minutes per game as a sophomore. She scored 11 points in just eight minutes vs. Louisiana College on Sunday and added four points and six rebounds vs. Grambling.