NATCHITOCHES, La. – Northwestern State jumped out to an early lead that put the ULM women's basketball team behind by double digits points in the first quarter and it couldn't recover in a 79-52 loss at Prather Coliseum Saturday afternoon. Redshirt-senior guard/forward Kierra Brimzy scored 14 points off the bench to lead the team and was one of four Warhawks to share team-high honors with five rebounds.
 
"It's a disappointing loss," said ULM head women's basketball coach Brooks Donald Williams. "We got off to a slow start and had to play catch up the rest of the game. Hats off to Northwestern. They played really well today and shot the ball extremely well.
 
Northwestern State had its best game of the year in terms of shooting percentage at 51.9 percent (27-52) with 10 of those baskets accounting for 30 points.
 
Scoring droughts in the first two periods allowed the Lady Demons to build a sizable lead and coast in the second half. After shooting only 28.7 percent from the field in the first quarter, the Warhawks leveled out in the second with six baskets and a field goal percentage of 50 percent.
 
A three-minute scoring drought by the Warhawks in the first quarter and another scoreless stretch in the second period helped the Lady Demons build a 20-point lead at the break, 45-25.
 
ULM could not get a single 3-pointer to fall in the first two periods, a frustration which continued until the fourth quarter when Brimzy connected on her trey. The Lady Demons canned 10 treys and shot 52.6 percent from beyond the arc while the Warhawks finished with one 3-pointer in 14 attempts.

Guards Aasia Sam and Olivia Knight each added eight points to the total with Sha'Miya Butler chipping in a career-best seven points off the bench. Butler, Myca Trail and Bre Sutton shared team-high honors with five rebounds each.

The Warhawks' bench had an advantage over the Lady Demons' bench 29-18, and scored more points off opponent turnovers, 21-17, but the second-chance points went in favor of Northwestern State, 18-7, and NSU swept up on the boards with a 42-33 overall advantage (+9).
 
The Warhawks return to action vs. McNeese in Lake Charles on Wednesday, Dec. 14. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+.
 
Northwestern State had three players with double-figure scoring, led by Sharna Ayres with 19. Alecia Whyte had a game-high 15 rebounds.