ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - The ULM women's basketball team plays its 2020-21 home opener at 2 p.m. Sunday when they welcome Louisiana College to Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks are coming off a 103-50 loss to No. 16 Arkansas Thursday night in Fayetteville, while it is the first contest of the 2020-21 season for the Wildcats. The game is an exhibition for LC.

Sunday's game will be televised on ESPN+ with Chris Harris (play-by-play) and Mike Vining (analyst) on the call. The game will air on the Warhawk Radio Network from Learfield IMG College (kmlb.com) with Mike Hammett calling the action.

Out of the 11 players that played in Thursday's season-opener for ULM at Arkansas, six of the players were true freshmen. Hannah Edwards, Morgan Hill, Tasionna McDowell, Kyren Whittington, Gracen Williams and Sadie Williams each played their first collegiate game. Whittington earned her first career start, while the other five came off the bench.

Senior Whitney Goins led the Warhawks with 11 points in the loss at Arkansas. Goins knocked down three 3-pointers, including two late in the fourth quarter. Goins has hit at least one 3-pointer in seven consecutive games dating back to the end of the 2019-20 season.

Senior Kierra Crockett picked up where she left off on the glass. Crockett secured a game-high 11 rebounds. It marked the eighth time that Crockett has collected 10 or more boards at ULM.

ULM is 4-1 in its last five home openers. The Warhawks lost last season's home opener vs. Southern Miss, 57-42. It snapped a streak of six-straight wins in home openers for ULM. Sunday marks the third time in the last seven years that Louisiana College has served as the opponent for a home opener (W 92-52 in 2013-14, W 85-42 in 2015-16).

Louisiana College is playing its first contest of the 2020-21 season on Sunday. The Wildcats finished 5-19 last season, including a 3-13 mark in the American Southwest Conference. The Lady Cats return four of their top five scorers from last season.

Junior Kayla Kinney is the top returning scorer for head coach Matt LeBato's club. Kinney played in all 24 games with 23 starts last season for the Wildcats, averaging 9.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She scored in double figures nine times, including a season-high 29 points in a double-double vs. Belhaven. Standing at just 5-4, Kinney managed four double-doubles last season including a season-high 13 rebounds at Belhaven.

Junior Alex Harrison played in 24 games with 22 starts, averaging 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. She notched a pair of double-doubles and scored in double figures 11 times. Senior Kristen Breaux (8.5 ppg.) and sophomore Maya Washington (8.3 ppg.) also return for the Lady Cats.

WARHAWKS VS. NON-DIVISION I COMPETITION    
ULM's game vs. Louisiana College is the Warhawks only game against a non-Division I school in 2020-21. It is the first regular season contest against a non-Division I opponent since ULM faced LSU-Alexandria (W, 93-62) and Arkansas Monticello (W, 70-39) in the 2018-19 season. The Warhawks have won 19 straight games against teams outside of NCAA Division I, dating back to an 80-72 loss to Louisiana College on Dec. 6, 1997.ULM owns a 73-25 record against schools that are currently classified outside of NCAA Division I.

WHIT(T)S AND LINDA LEAD THE WAY AT ARKANSAS    
In Thursday's season-opener at Arkansas, senior Whitney Goins, freshman Kyren Whittington and sophomore Linda van Schaik helped lead the Warhawk attack. Goins led the team with 11 points and knocked down 3-of-6 3-point field goal attempts against the Hogs. Whittington earned a start in her first-career game and managed to score the first points of the season for ULM on a runner in the lane in the first quarter. She scored all eight of her points in the first half. Van Schaik buried a pair of treys in the second half and matched Whittington with eight points off the bench.

CROCKETT CONTROLS THE BOARDS    
Senior Kierra Crockett collected a game-high 11 rebounds in 27 minutes in Thursday's season-opener at Arkansas. Crockett had nine defensive rebounds and two offensive rebounds in the contest. She made an immediate impact in her first season at ULM in 2019-20. Crockett 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.

FRESH PERSPECTIVE    
Six freshmen made their collegiate debut Thursday night at Arkansas. Hannah Edwards, Morgan Hill, Tasionna McDowell, Kyren Whittington, Gracen Williams and Sadie Williams each picked up the first minutes of their careers. Whittington earned a start and scored eight points with a rebound in 19 minutes. Sadie Williams added six points and two assists in 20 minutes. Gracen Williams chipped in four points with three assists in 24 minutes. McDowell had two points and four rebounds in 20 minutes. Edwards and Hill did not score, but Edwards tallied three rebounds and two blocks while Hill had two rebounds and a block.

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.

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. 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%).

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.

BRIMZY SET TO MAKE WARHAWK DEBUT
Junior Kierra Brimzy is set to make her ULM basketball debut after sitting 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 Thursday due to injury.