GRAMBLING, La. – The ULM women's basketball team battled back from an eight-point halftime deficit to lead down the stretch, but a 10-0 run by Grambling in the final three minutes gave the Tigers the 69-61 win on the opening night of the 2021-22 season at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
"We knew it was going to be a tough challenge tonight going against Grambling's veteran backcourt," ULM head coach Brooks Donald Williams said. "They returned and added a great deal of experience and production which we expected would be tough. Our hope is that it will give our youth an idea of the physicality and detail in execution we will need to bring to practice daily to compete at this level."
 
Trailing 33-25 at halftime, ULM used a strong defensive effort with some patience on the offensive end to chip away at the lead. Freshman Kyren Whittington opened the half with a 3-pointer, while senior Diamond Brooks followed with a traditional 3-point play to bring the Warhawks within four at 35-31 with 7:29 left in the third quarter.
 
After GSU went back up by six, freshman Amaya Ford, playing her first collegiate game, caught fire. Ford scored five consecutive points to bring ULM within one, 37-36, on a jumper in the lane with 4:49 left in the third. Later, Ford tied the game up with a 3-point play off an assist from Whittington, knotting the game at 41 with 3:23 left in the frame.
 
GSU pushed back out to a pair of three-point leads, but the Warhawks continued to fight back. Brooks cleaned up a missed layup with a tip-in, and after a defensive stop, sophomore Linda van Schaik hit a 15-foot jumper on the right baseline to give ULM its first lead of the second half, 48-47, which held to the end of the quarter.
 
A layup by GSU's Alexus Holt put the Tigers back up 49-48, but van Schaik answered with a 3-pointer from the right corner for the 51-49 edge. GSU's Kaci Chairs answered with a trey, but Whittington hit one of two free throws to tie the game back up at 52 with 7:55 to play.
 
GSU regained a four-point lead on a free throw by Ciera Ellington and a 3-point play by Holt. Ford once again brought the Warhawks back, knocking down back-to-back jumpers to even it up at 56 with 4:41 to go. A layup by Holt and free throw from Chairs put GSU back up 59-56, but Brooks responded with her second 3-point play of the night to tie the game at 59 with 3:48 remaining.
 
The game turned when GSU's Ashanti Lavergne spun to the basket and scored a layup with 3:08 left, and Brooks went tumbling to the ground with an apparent leg injury. She did not return to the game. On the next GSU possession, senior Kierra Crockett fouled out, leaving ULM without its two senior post players down the stretch.
 
GSU used solid free throw shooting down the stretch to pull away for the 69-61 win.
 
The Warhawks scored the first six points of the game on a jumper by Whittington, a free throw by Crockett, and a 3-pointer from the right wing by sophomore Gara Beth Self. GSU chipped away at the lead for the remainder of the quarter, but ULM led 13-12 after one.
 
After GSU took a brief lead in the second quarter, Brooks knocked down back-to-back buckets to regain a 17-14 edge. However, GSU outscored ULM 19-8 over the rest of the quarter to take a 33-25 lead to the halftime break.
 
Whittington led ULM with a career-high 16 points, while Brooks added 14 and Ford had 13, with nine of her points coming in the third quarter. Holt paced GSU with 26 points and Chairs chipped in 12.
 
ULM shot 41.5% from the field (22-of-53) to GSU's 35.9% (23-of-64), but the Tigers outrebounded ULM 41-34 and forced 32 Warhawk turnovers.
 
The Warhawks visit Southern Miss at 2 p.m. Saturday. Links to live video, audio and stats are available on the women's basketball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.