MONROE, La. – The ULM women's basketball team closed as close as one point of UT Arlington in the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks used a 14-3 run over the middle portion of the quarter to pull away and pick up a 74-67 win over the Warhawks on Senior Day Saturday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Warhawks close the season at 3-26 overall and 1-17 in the Sun Belt Conference, while UTA moves on to next week's Sun Belt Conference tournament at 20-10 and 14-4 in the Sun Belt.
Saturday's game was tight throughout, but ULM just couldn't quite get over the top against the Mavericks.
"We're proud of their efforts," ULM head coach Brooks Donald Williams said. "To come out against a very well coached and very good UTA team the way we did, I'm just tremendously proud of the effort that we put forth."
In an up-tempo first quarter, the two sides went back-and-forth trading the lead. The two sides had eight lead changes and five ties in the first 10 minutes alone. Diamond Brooks knocked down a jumper on the left baseline with two seconds left in the quarter for the eighth and final lead change of the frame, putting ULM up 20-19 after a quarter.
ULM led by as much as three in the second quarter following a jumper by Amber Thompson, and later, a 3-pointer from Gara Beth Self to go up 25-22. However, UTA answered with an 11-1 run to push its lead to seven on a layup by Marie Benson with 5:24 to go before halftime. ULM chipped away at the deficit, and trailed by six inside the final minute of the half. However, back-to-back buckets from Jamie Means, one a layup, the other a jumper, brought the Warhawks within two at halftime, 40-38.
UTA stretched the lead out to as much as 10 in the third quarter on a layup by Katie Ferrell with 2:51 left in the quarter. ULM trimmed the deficit back to six by the end of the quarter on a pair of free throws by Linda van Schaik, and trailed 57-51 going to the final quarter.
The Warhawks made their final charge to open the quarter, as Self finished a jumper in the paint and van Schaik buried a 3-pointer to bring ULM within one at 57-56. However, the Mavericks went on a 14-3 run to gain separation for the 74-67 win.
UTA's Benson led all scorers with 29 points, and had a double-double with 14 rebounds.
"Marie Benson is, in my opinion, the best player in the league," Williams said. "She showed that tonight. We battled her, despite her numbers. I thought we made her work for every single rebound and every single point today. I'm very proud of our efforts against a very, very tough and deep front court."
Claire Chastain added 13 points for UTA, while Ferrell had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
ULM honored its senior class of Destini Lunsford, Lauren Fitch and Thompson prior to the game. Lunsford and Fitch missed much of the 2019-20 season due to injury. Thompson scored 18 points in her final collegiate game, including hitting her last shot of her career – a 3-pointer inside the final 20 seconds.
"We're proud of Amber's growth," Williams said. "She's had a really good senior year from start to finish. I just can't say enough about how much she has grown on and off the floor. I'm looking forward to continuing to watch her grow in whatever she chooses to do professionally. I know that her time here as a ULM Warhawk will certainly benefit her career moving forward."
Freshman Gara Beth Self led the Warhawks on senior day with 19 points.
"GB got veteran minutes this year," Williams said. "Certainly by early February, GB had veteran experience under her belt. We're excited about moving forward with her. I think when she's got other pieces around her in the future, she's going to be really fun to watch. I think we all got to see some glimpses of what she's going to mean to this program. For her to be able to lay the foundation in our year one was really special. We're really proud of what she was able to do as a freshman point guard."
Fellow freshman Linda van Schaik was a point shy of a her career-high, finishing with 11 points.
"I'm happy for Linda," Williams said. "She lives in the gym. She's really spent some time working on her game, especially as of late. Her parents were here today, so its kind of fun for her to be able to do that with them in the stands and see her live. Any time a kid is spending extra time in the gym, you love to see that success and see them connect with the lights on. Hopefully it gives her some momentum moving forward."
For Williams, it marks the end of her first season at the helm of the Warhawk women's basketball program. She said the future looks promising.
"Our record certainly doesn't indicate the growth that we've had this season," Williams said. "We've had tremendous growth. I think the folks that were able to see it from start to finish, or even drop in from time to time, we heard it all over town how much the girls have improved. I think the main thing is you can see the culture developing, the toughness, the effort, just a different mindset. We're excited about bringing that on in to the future."
For offseason updates on Warhawk women's basketball, visit ULMWarhawks.com, or follow ULM_WBB on Facebook and Twitter.
