MONROE, La. – ULM's full court pressure defense gave the Warhawks life in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to overcome Texas State, 68-56, Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
"I'm proud of the way we battled at the end," ULM head coach Brooks Donald Williams said. "Our press gave us a big spark."
 
The Bobcats (10-10 overall, 7-8 Sun Belt Conference) took advantage of early foul trouble for the Warhawks (3-19, 1-15) and built a 17-point halftime lead, 37-20. Texas State led by as much as 22 with 2:50 left in the third quarter before ULM made a run, getting as close as eight in the fourth quarter.
 
Kierra Brimzy paced ULM with 15 points and a career-high seven assists. Texas State, which shot 49% from the field, was led by a season-high 20 points from Kennedy Taylor, while Da'Nasia Hood added 14 and Lauryn Thompson had 12.
 
ULM honored senior Whitney Goins prior to tipoff. Goins scored seven points with seven rebounds and three assists in her final game inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
Texas State opened the game on a 14-3 run, with 10 points coming from Taylor. The Bobcats pushed the lead to as much as 12 and led 19-8 after a quarter.
 
The two teams traded buckets early in the second quarter, with ULM never getting closer than 11 points. Texas State extended the lead to 15 on a jumper by Hood to make it 29-14. ULM pulled within 13 again on a layup by Brimzy, but the Bobcats scored the final four points of the half on back-to-back buckets from Thompson and a floater by Avionne Alexander at the buzzer to lead 37-20 at the break.
 
Texas State extended the lead to as much as 22 in the third quarter on another layup from Alexander to go ahead 50-22 with 2:50 remaining in the frame. After Kierra Crockett converted a layup off an assist from Brimzy, Williams took a timeout and set up the full court press with 1:06 left in the quarter. Back-to-back Bobcat turnovers brought ULM within 15 at 50-35 on Brimzy's 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in the quarter. Ja'Kayla Bowie broke the press with a layup on the next possession as Texas State led 52-35 after three quarters.
 
In the final quarter, ULM's press continued to cause Texas State fits. Gara Beth Self and Brimzy each connected on a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, and Tasionna McDowell scored on a layup off an assist from Brimzy to cut the gap to nine, 52-43, with 5:44 remaining.
 
Out of a ULM timeout, Texas State scored the next six points, with four coming from Hood. The Warhawks pulled back within nine on Self's trey with 2:17 to play. After free throws from Taylor pushed the lead back to 11, a jumper just inside the foul line by Brimzy and a free throw by McDowell cut the deficit to eight, 62-54, with 40 seconds left. However, the Bobcats did not allow ULM any closer, holding on for the 68-56 win.
 
"We appreciate our fans this season," Williams said. "With COVID and so many new challenges, we had some great crowds. In the near future, we look forward to continuing to grow our Warhawk fan base at Fant. We can't wait."
 
ULM returns to the floor at 11 a.m. Friday at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida, to open the Sun Belt Conference Championship. The Warhawks will play the third-place team from the East Division in the opening round. According to the conference standings, Appalachian State finished in third place in the East Division. The bracket will be formally released Sunday afternoon.
 
"We are looking forward to the conference tournament," Williams said. "I love this time of year. Everyone is going in 0-0. We've talked to our crew about it being a brand new season. Anything can happen. This will be the first experience at a conference tournament for our entire group. We are ready to get to work this week to prep for Friday."
 
For the latest on ULM women's basketball, visit ULMWarhawks.com.