PENSACOLA, Fla. – Appalachian State scored the first 10 points of the game and held off a second half run by ULM as the Mountaineers topped the Warhawks, 70-60, in the opening round of the Sun Belt Championship at the Pensacola Bay Center.
"When you dig a hole so early, it's tough in this environment to bounce back from that," ULM head coach
Brooks Donald Williams said.
App State built a 40-24 halftime lead, leading by as much as 20 in the second quarter. ULM closed the gap to as little as seven, 49-42, in the third quarter, but App responded. The Mountaineers regained a 12-point edge by the end of the quarter and used a 16-4 run to open the fourth quarter to expand the lead to its largest of the day at 24, 70-46, with 4:23 to play. ULM scored the final 14 points of the game for the final 70-60 margin.
"Our point guard play just wasn't quite as sharp as it needed to be against a team as good as App or really anybody in this tournament," Williams said. "Your point guard play has to be solid. We just didn't have solid play from that position today and it really hurt us."
Kierra Brimzy scored a game-high 22 points to lead ULM.
"Brim made up her mind that she was going to get to the rim and she did a great job of producing some points off the bounce for us," Williams said. "I think that's something that she can go into the offseason and continue to work on her game. I think she's a special player and she's able to put the ball in the goal. She's going to be a fun player to watch in the future."
Diamond Brooks added a career-high 18 points and tracked down eight rebounds as ULM shot 51% from the field for the game.
"
Diamond Brooks came out of the gates just playing tough in the paint," Williams said. "We're really proud of her battling through all of her injuries and battling through things in the last four years. We're proud of her effort and her commitment to get better and become a presence for us in the post."
Michaela Porter and Lainey Gosnell paced four App scorers in double figures with 14 points each. App buried 11 3-pointers in the game while ULM did not hit any of its six attempts from beyond the arc.
Pre Stanley scored five of the first 10 points of the game for App. ULM rallied to close within four points on buckets by Brimzy and Linda Van Schaik to trail 15-11 with 2:48 left in the first quarter. However, App used a 3-pointer by Brooke Bigott and a pair of free throws to expand the lead to nine after a quarter, 20-11.
App slowly but steadily built a 20-point first half lead as Tierra Wilson connected on a trey for the 40-20 advantage with 1:15 left in the half. Two free throws from van Schaik and a layup by
Tasionna McDowell brought ULM within 16 at halftime, 40-24.
The Warhawks scored five of the first seven points of the season half as Brooks' free throw and pair of jumpers by Brimzy brought ULM within 13 at 42-29, spurring an App timeout. Brimzy and Brooks added layups around a trey by Porter to get within 12, 45-33. The Warhawks closed within 10, 47-37, on a jumper by Brooks in the lane. Moments later, Brimzy cut the gap to eight with a bucket in the paint. Brooks' free throw brought ULM as close as they would get, 49-42, before App pulled back away in the fourth quarter.
ULM now enters the offseason after having last year's offseason workouts eliminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We have not had an offseason with them yet," Williams said. "We're really excited about being able to have an offseason with our program. That's where things are built, in offseasons and summers and preseasons. Those are things we haven't had the opportunity to have yet. We're looking forward to that time."
For the latest on ULM women's basketball, visit ULMWarhawks.com.
