ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - After 10 days off, ULM returns to the court to open Sun Belt Conference play at 6:30 p.m. Thursday vs. Texas State. The Warhawks closed non-conference play at 4-10 after a 73-72 overtime loss to Mississippi Valley State on Monday, Dec. 20. Thursday's game marks the seventh game in an eight-game homestand for ULM.

Thursday's game will air on ESPN+ with Chris Harris (play-by-play) and Mike Vining (analyst) on the call. The game will also be broadcast on 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app on the Warhawk Radio Network from Learfield with Mike Hammett on the play-by-play.

Thursday's game marks the 61st all-time meeting between ULM and Texas State, with the Warhawks leading the series, 32-28. The Bobcats have won five consecutive meetings, including all four meetings last year. Texas State won the two games in Monroe, 85-62 on Feb. 26 and 68-56 on Feb. 27. ULM last defeated the Bobcats, 58-55, in San Marcos on Jan. 16, 2020.

ULM lost its third straight game with a 73-72 loss to Mississippi Valley on Monday, Dec. 20. Sophomore Linda van Schaik nearly willed her team to a victory, pouring in a career-high 21 points on 5-of-11 3-point shooting with a career-best 16 rebounds, seven offensive, in a career-high 43 minutes.

A pair of true freshmen made a mark for the Warhawks against MVSU. Amaya Ford reached double figures for the first time since Nov. 12 with 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high five steals. She played 33 minutes off the bench against the Devilettes. Aasia Sam reached double figures for the second time in her young career with 12 points and two assists in 31 minutes.

True freshman point guard Bre Sutton played nearly 30 minutes against MVSU, scoring nine points while adding a career-best eight assists. ULM had 16 assists on 25 field goals against the Devilettes.

Texas State is 5-7 entering Thursday's Sun Belt Conference opener at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. After opening the season 5-2, the Bobcats have lost five consecutive games. Texas State has posted wins over Huston-Tillotson (82-48), at UTSA (76-62), Arlington Baptist (93-23), at Houston Baptist (58-54) and against Texas College (105-37).

Da'Nasia Hood paces Texas State at 12.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. She has reached double-figure scoring in seven of 10 games and had a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double vs. Arlington Baptist. She did not play in losses to UTEP and San Diego.

Kennedy Taylor is the only other Bobcat averaging double figures at 10.0 points per game. She leads the SBC at 5.3 assists per game while averaging 2.7 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures six times and has dished out five or more assists seven times.

Texas State won all four meetings with ULM last season and has won five straight games in the series. The Bobcats won in San Marcos, 74-52 and 64-50, on Jan. 22-23, 2021, and swept the two games in Monroe, 85-62 and 68-56, on Feb. 26-27, 2021.

Since joining the Sun Belt Conference prior to the 2006-07 season, ULM is 4-11 in its conference opening games. Thursday's game vs. Texas State marks the first time in six seasons that ULM has opened SBC play at home, and the first time the Warhawks have faced the Bobcats to begin SBC action. ULM has lost nine straight SBC openers.