TROY, Ala. - The ULM Warhawks head to the state of Alabama for the second time this season on Wednesday when they visit Troy. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ULM is 3-17 overall and 1-8 in the Sun Belt after dropping a heartbreaker to Arkansas State on Saturday, 54-53. Troy is off to the best start to a season in program history at 17-3 overall and 8-1 in the Sun Belt.
PROJECTED STARTERS (based on previous game)
#2
Gara Beth Self, 5-8, Fr., G: 8.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 2.0 apg
#1
Amber Thompson, 5-9, Sr., G: 10.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg
#11
Whitney Goins, 6-0, Jr., G/F: 6.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg
#4
Kierra Crockett, 6-0, Jr., F: 6.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg
#24
Diamond Brooks, 6-2, Jr., C: 8.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg
STARTING FIVE
1. After scoring a game-high 17 points on Saturday, freshman point guard
Gara Beth Self has now tallied seven consecutive double-figure scoring games. Self has found her scoring stride after taking over the point guard role following a season-ending injury to senior
Lauren Fitch. Self is averaging 12.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game since the start of Sun Belt Conference play. She has upped her season scoring average by 3.6 points per game over the last seven contests, going from 4.9 points per game to 8.5 points per game.
2. Junior guard/forward
Whitney Goins notched her second consecutive double-figure scoring game on Saturday, scoring 14 points, with 11 coming in the first half. Goins knocked down four-of-nine 3-pointers on Saturday, marking her fourth performance with at least three treys this season. All four of her double figure efforts this season have come inside of Sun Belt Conference play. Of her 12 career double-figure efforts, 10 have come against a Sun Belt foe. Goins poured in a career-high 19 points with five treys against Troy on Jan. 8.
3. Sophomore forward
Jamie Means played a season-high 27 minutes on Saturday vs. Arkansas State, and responded by matching a season-high with seven points and tying a career-high with nine rebounds. Means tallied three of her rebounds on the offensive end, including a critical offensive rebound and putback to expand the ULM lead to four with just over two minutes remaining.
4. For the second consecutive game, ULM out-rebounded its opponent. The Warhawks snagged 42 rebounds to 36 for Arkansas State on Saturday. On Jan. 25, ULM pulled in 47 rebounds and won the rebounding battle by 18 over the Ragin' Cajuns for its largest positive rebounding margin of the season. ULM has not won the rebounding battle in three straight contests this season.
5. Wednesday's contest at Troy marks the start of the second half of Sun Belt Conference play. After tonight's game, ULM will play the majority of its remaining regular season games in Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks will host six of their final eight games, including a four-game home stand starting on Saturday vs. South Alabama.
PREVIEWING TROY
Wednesday's game is the 25th all-time meeting between ULM and Troy, with the Trojans leading the series 14-10. Troy is on a six-game winning streak in the series, dating back to Feb. 27, 2016, when the Trojans beat ULM 74-64 in Troy. Troy has won seven of the last eight 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 continues to lead the nation in rebounds at 55.5 per game, sitting 7.6 rebounds ahead of second-place Tennessee. The Trojans also lead the nation in rebounding margin at +15.1 rebounds per game and offensive rebounds at 23.4 per game. Troy ranks third nationally in defensive rebounds at 32.1 per contest. Within the Sun Belt, Troy leads the league in scoring offense (80.2 points per game), ranks second in field goal percentage defense (35.8%) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.4%) and is third in blocked shots (3.7), steals (9.0), turnover margin (+3.1 per game) and assist to turnover ratio (0.8).
Junior guard Jasmine Robinson leads the Trojans in scoring at 12.9 points and assists at 2.9 per game. Robinson ranks 11th in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring and is tied for ninth in assists. Robinson also ranks 10th in the conference in 3-pointers made per game at 1.5 and is 15th in free throw percentage at 70.6%. Robinson has reached double-figure scoring in 15 games, including a season-high 25 points at Duke on Nov. 24. Robinson also scored 20 points vs. the Ragin' Cajuns on Jan. 11, and tallied nine assists vs. Texas State on Jan. 23. Robinson had 13 points at ULM on Jan. 8.
Senior forward Japonica James ranks second on the Trojans in scoring at 12.1 points per game. James had a streak of five straight double-figure scoring games snapped on Saturday with nine points vs. South Alabama. James has 12 double-figure games this season, and has hit a season-high 28 points twice, including on Jan. 23 vs. Texas State. James also pulled down 11 rebounds vs. the Bobcats for her only double-double of the season. James has been stout defensively, ranking 11th in the Sun Belt at 1.6 steals per game. She also ranks 16th in scoring.
A total of six players average over eight points per game for Troy, including Kayla Robinson (9.7), Amber RIvers (8.7), Jasmine LeBlanc (8.5) and Alexus Dye (8.3).
On the glass, four Trojans average at least six rebounds per game, including Dye (8.7), Kate Rodgers (6.5), Harriet Winchester (6.4) and LeBlanc (6.0).
Also in the Sun Belt stat rankings for Troy, Dye ranks third in rebounding, while Rodgers (12th) and Winchester (14th) also sit inside the top 15. Rodgers ranks third in blocked shots (1.2) while Tyasia Moore is seventh (0.7). Four Trojans sit in the top 10 of the conference in offensive rebounding, with Dye in second (4.0), Rodgers seventh (2.8), James ninth (2.7) and Winchester 10th (2.6). Dye is also 10th in defensive rebounding (4.7).
