Kierra Brimzy posted double figures for the seventh time this season, finishing with 15 points at McNeese.
66
ULM ULM 3-6,0-0 Sun Belt
76
Winner McNeese McN 3-6,0-0 Southland
ULM ULM
3-6,0-0 Sun Belt
66
Final
76
McNeese McN
3-6,0-0 Southland
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
ULM ULM 18 10 22 16 66
McNeese McN 18 23 16 19 76

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

ULM’s Second-Half Rally Falls Short at McNeese, 76-66

LAKE CHARLES, La. – Stephanie Guihon and Le'Shenae Stubblefield combined to score 33 points to lead McNeese to a 76-66 victory over ULM Wednesday night as the Cowgirls posted their third-straight win in the series.
 
There were four lead changes and four ties in a tightly contested first quarter. ULM jumped out to a 7-2 lead on Kierra Brimzy's jumper in the lane, off a McNeese turnover, with 7:49 on the clock. The Cowgirls rallied to tie the score at 9-all on Stubblefield's 3-pointer and took their first lead at 12-11 as Zuzanna Kulinska buried a 3 from the left wing with 4:23 left. The score was tied at 18-all after the first 10 minutes.
 
The Warhawks shot 41 percent (7-of-17) from the field in the opening quarter and recorded six assists on the seven made field goals.
 
Brimzy's second-chance layup gave ULM at 22-21 lead with 8:34 remaining in the second quarter. Kaili Chamberlin's 3-pointer from the left wing sparked a 15-0 run as McNeese (3-6) turned a one-point deficit into a 36-22 lead on Guihon's 3 from the right wing with 4:38 to play in the first half. Aasia Sam ended ULM's scoring drought the lasted 5:16 with a jumper in the lane off a Cowgirl turnover with 3:18 on the clock. McNeese led by 13 points at the intermission, 41-28.
 
There were seven lead changes and four ties in the first half.
 
Guihon scored nine of her career-high 17 points in the second quarter as the Cowgirls outscored ULM, 23-10, in the period. The Warhawks hit just 5-of-20 field-goal attempts (25 percent) in the second quarter, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
 
McNeese built its largest lead at 43-28 on Chamberlin's layup 23 seconds into the third quarter. Emma Merriweather's rebound basket fueled an 11-2 spurt as ULM rallied to within six at 45-39 as Merriweather converted a pair of free throws with 5:10 on the clock. The Cowgirls held a 57-50 lead after three periods. Merriweather scored five points and collected seven rebounds, including four off the offensive boards, in the third quarter alone.
 
ULM (3-6) put together a 7-1 run early in the fourth quarter and cut its deficit to three points at 60-57 on Brimzy's layup with 5:53 left. McNeese answered with an 11-4 spurt and extended its lead back into double digits at 71-61 as Stubblefield completed a traditional three-point play with 1:41 to play.
 
As a team, McNeese shot 45 percent (26-of-58) from the floor, including 7-of-16 (44 percent) from behind the 3-point arc while ULM connected on 38 percent (27-of-72) of its field-goal attempts, including only 1-of-12 (8 percent) 3-pointers. The Cowgirls outrebounded the Warhawks, 44-41.
 
ULM held an advantage in points off turnovers, 23-14; points in the paint, 40-36; and second-chance points, 19-18; however, McNeese enjoyed a 20-point margin in bench scoring, 31-11.
 
"It's a really disappointing road loss," ULM Brooks Donald Williams said. "It's exciting for Aasia Sam and Myca Trail to come to Lake Charles to play in front of their family and friends, but we would have loved to have come down here and gotten the win. I'm a big believer in being patient and understanding the process, and we're really close to turning the corner.
 
"We're making strides every game. We were a lot tougher tonight than we were Saturday at Northwestern State, and McNeese has an equally dangerous team. The girls made some really good adjustments from Saturday's game, especially given the quick turnaround. We did some good things, but just couldn't knock down the shots when we needed to. When you're playing in a close game, the margin for error is so small. In those tight games, we need to value each possession and execute the offense down the stretch.
 
"We forced McNeese into 23 turnovers and we converted those into 23 points. We have the personnel to be able to apply pressure and cause a little bit of chaos. We feel like that has become the strength of our team."
 
Guihon, who made 5-of-7 shots from the field, was joined in double figures by two other Cowgirls, including Stubblefield who added 16 points on 5-of-7 field-goal shooting and Kulinska who added 10.
 
Kaitlyn Manuel led ULM in scoring for the third time this season, matching her career high with 16 points. Manuel went 6-of-12 from the floor.
 
Brimzy, who made 7-of-14 field-goal attempts, posted double figures for the seventh time this season, finishing with 15 points. Merriweather grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, her fourth double-digit rebounding effort as a Warhawk. Sam recorded a career-high six assists to go along with eight points, three rebounds and two steals.
 
ULM returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 17 against Tennessee Tech in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, with tipoff set for 4:30 p.m. It marks the second game of a doubleheader, with the Warhawk men's basketball team facing Lamar in the first contest at 2 p.m. Tickets for the doubleheader are priced at $15 for reserved seats and $12 for general admission
  
"We'll evaluate this game film, then focus our attention on a very good basketball team, in Tennessee Tech, which is picked to win its league," Williams said. "It's another quick turnaround, so we know it's going to be a really tough challenge. We'll learn from this game, and we prepare to move on to the next one."
 
Print Friendly Version