ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. – The ULM women's basketball team travels for its last road trip of 2022 with a 7 p.m. contest at McNeese on Wednesday, Dec. 14. The Warhawks are 1-1 in December and seeking their first road win of 2022-23. The game will be available for viewing on ESPN+.
 
Sophomore guard Aasia Sam (LaGrange HS) and freshman guard/forward Myca Trail are making a trip home while assistant coach Jalyn Johnson returns to her alma mater where she holds multiple records as an alumna of the Cowgirl program. For ULM head women's basketball coach Brooks Donald Williams, she's returning to the place where her head coaching career started. She spent
nine seasons at McNeese, completing her tenure as the winningest coach in Cowgirl basketball history.
 
Williams's memories are focused on the people who made the experience directing the McNeese program special.
 
"The people in Lake Charles, my former players, community members, coaches and administrative staff, who are still family to me, they are my memories," Williams said. "We won a lot of games and were a part of some incredible times, but it was the people we were doing it with and the commitment they had to our program that makes it simply unforgettable."
 
Williams guided McNeese to six consecutive postseason appearances, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2011 and 2012). She was named the 2011 Southland Conference Coach of the Year after taking over a program that had not produced a winning record in nearly 10 years.
 
A Louisiana native, Williams led the Cowgirls to four 20-win seasons over her last six years, including one regular-season Southland Conference Championship (2011) and consecutive SLC Tournament titles (2011 and 2012). Her student-athletes were equally successful in the classroom, garnering four Southland Conference Student-Athlete of the Year awards and 10 All-Academic Team selections to go along with her 100-percent graduation rate.

Assistant coach Johnson's name is etched in the McNeese record books. She finished her distinguished career (2012-16) in the Top 10 of numerous stat categories, including scoring with 1,455 points, and still ranks as the Cowgirls' all-time assists leader with 554. She also appears in the record section atop several single-game and single-season categories, sweeping the top totals for assists in both a single-game and single season in addition to her career mark.
 
The probable starters for Wednesday night's game feature the sixth-different starting lineup for the ULM with two Warhawks who have started every game this season: sophomore guard Olivia Knight and sophomore forward Katlyn Manuel. Manuel had 14 starts in her freshman campaign at ULM and Knight entered her first season as a Warhawk after starting 33 games at Jones College. The Warhawks boast 253 starts combined with junior guard Gara Beth Self leading that list with 69.
 
The Warhawks and Cowgirls meet for the 74th time Wednesday with the Warhawks holding a 42-31 advantage in the series, though McNeese has won the last two meetings. The last two games in Lake Charles were single-digit decisions that went in the Cowgirls' favor, a 65-61 come-from-behind win for McNeese on Nov. 26, 2017, and a 72-69 loss in the Dec. 1, 2019, game, despite a valiant rally after falling behind by 16 in the second half. The two programs have met at least once in 38 of the last 40 seasons, missing only the 2012-13 and 2020-21 seasons.
 
The Warhawks are ready to get back on the court and put Saturday's game at Northwestern State behind them after falling 79-52 in Natchitoches. The Lady Demons had their best field-goal percentage of the season at 51.9 percent (27-52) with 10 of those baskets accounting for 30 points. Scoring droughts for ULM didn't help the situation as Northwestern State built a double-figure lead and kept ULM at bay. 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.

"We were disappointed with how we played at Northwestern," Williams said. "We all were. Most importantly, our players were. We had some very honest conversations about some things that we need to adjust. We have had two very different practices since leaving Natchitoches. There's been a different energy about them. I'm excited for them and anxious to see their response on the court."

Following the game at McNeese, the Warhawks will finish the 2022 portion of their season at home at Fant-Ewing Coliseum with four-straight games.