MONROE, La. – Sophomore Gara Beth Self led the way for the second consecutive game with 16 points as the ULM women's basketball team controlled the game in a 65-51 win over Champion Christian Wednesday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
"We are excited for our players to get back-to-back wins," ULM head coach Brooks Donald Williams said. "We were certainly not as sharp as we would have liked to have been. We anticipated it being a challenging game being a day removed from final exams concluding with such a young team."
 
After a tough first quarter, ULM used a 7-0 run to open the second quarter to build a 10-point lead at 23-13 and never let the Tigers get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
 
Self knocked down four 3-pointers for the second straight contest while adding four rebounds, four assists and no turnovers. Fifth-year senior Kierra Crockett added 12 points, seven rebounds and five steals while true freshman Katlyn Manuel just missed a second consecutive double-double with nine points, a career-high 13 rebounds and a career-best four blocks. Destiny Gonzalez led Champion Christian with 12 points.
 
"It was great to see Gara Beth Self get hot from behind the arc in consecutive games," Williams said. "She's had a good week of practice and it carried over to the court today."
 
Another sluggish start for ULM yielded a 5-1 lead to Champion Christian with 8:31 left in the first quarter. However, the Warhawks used a 6-0 spurt to go in front and then never trailed again. Manuel started the run with a layup, while fellow true freshmen Amaya Ford and Aasia Sam followed with buckets to put ULM up 7-5.
 
After Champion Christian tied the game at 7, Self connected on her first trey and Crockett added a layup to push the lead to five at 12-7. The Warhawks led by three after a quarter, 16-13.
 
Crockett opened the second quarter with back-to-back layups and sophomore Linda van Schaik followed with another triple for the 23-13 advantage. ULM increased the lead to 12 on a bucket by redshirt junior Kierra Brimzy at 27-15, and again following another trey by van Schaik at 30-18. The Warhawks maintained a 10-point lead at halftime, 30-20.
 
The Tigers pulled within eight twice in the third quarter, the final time at 34-26 on free throws by Elisa Gonzalez. Self added her second 3-pointer to extend the lead back to double digits, sparking a 15-1 run that included a 3-pointer from true freshman Bre Sutton and was capped on a layup by Crockett off a steal by Self for the 47-27 lead with 4:22 to play in the third quarter. The Warhawks led 51-34 after three quarters.
 
In the final frame, Champion Christian pulled as close as 11 points at 60-49, but the Warhawks answered again, regaining control and pushing the lead back to 16 on Self's fourth 3-pointer to make it 65-49 with 45 seconds remaining. ULM went on to the 65-51 win.
 
The Warhawks shot 35% (23-of-66) from the field and 47% (7-of-15) from 3-point range. Champion Christian was limited to 28% shooting (17-of-60) from the floor and 20% (4-of-20) from deep. ULM outrebounded the Tigers, 49-43.
 
ULM is off until 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15, when Northwestern State visits Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Links to live video, audio and stats as well as tickets are available at ULMWarhawks.com.