Bre Sutton led the Warhawks with 14 points to go along with a career-best seven rebounds against Tennessee Tech.
Luke Richard/ULM Athletics
83
Winner Tennessee Tech TNTech 6-3,0-0 OVC
59
ULM ULM 3-7,0-0 Sun Belt
Winner
Tennessee Tech TNTech
6-3,0-0 OVC
83
Final
59
ULM ULM
3-7,0-0 Sun Belt
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Tennessee Tech TNTech 20 26 16 21 83
ULM ULM 15 15 17 12 59

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Scoring Droughts Costly as ULM Stumbles Against Tennessee Tech

MONROE, La. – Maaliya Owens scored 18 points and collected seven rebounds and five assists while leading Tennessee Tech to an 83-59 win over ULM Saturday in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
Tennessee Tech (6-3), which led from start to finish, hit five of its first seven field-goal attempts and took an 11-4 lead on Reagan Hurt's layup with 5:56 left in the first quarter. Diamond Brooks converted a fast-break layup at the first-quarter buzzer, off an assist from Oliva Knight, to pull the Warhawks to within 20-15 after the first 10 minutes.
 
Tech put together a 7-2 run early in the second quarter and built a 34-22 advantage on Anna Walker's fast-break layup with 5:15 on the clock. ULM went 4:44 without a field goal during that stretch. The Warhawks cut the deficit to eight points at 36-28 on Bre Sutton's fast-break layup with 3:23 remaining. The Golden Eagles closed out the quarter with a 10-2 spurt to push their lead to 46-30 at the halftime break.
 
Owens netted 11 first-half points for Tech, which shot 49 percent (18-of-37) from the field including 6-of-17 from 3-point range (35 percent). Tech also parlayed ULM's eight first-half turnovers into 17 points.
 
ULM (3-7) outscored the Golden Eagles in the third quarter, 17-16, but trailed 62-47 after 30 minutes.
 
Kiera Hill's layup sparked a 12-1 run as Tech built its largest lead at 77-50 on Jada Guinn's layup with 4:25 to play in the game. ULM went nearly seven minutes (6:55) between field goals in the fourth quarter. The Warhawks went 4-of-17 (24 percent) from the floor over the last 10 minutes.
 
For the game, Tech made 36-of-74 field-goal attempts (49 percent), including 7-of-24 3-pointers (29 percent). ULM shot 36 percent (19-of-53) from the floor, including 0-for-11 from behind the 3-point arc. The Golden Eagles held an advantage in points off turnovers, 19-12; points in the paint, 52-32; and second-chance points, 17-9.
 
"It was a tough ballgame but hats off to Tennessee Tech, which looked like a well-oiled machine," ULM head coach Brooks Donald Williams said. "They return a great deal of talent from a team that was a game shy of advancing to the NCAA tournament last year, and they're picked to win their league (Ohio Valley Conference). We knew that they were going be a tough challenge. They shoot the 3-ball extremely well. Tennessee Tech has the combination of great outside shooting along with players who can take you off the bounce. There were times where we did some really good things defensively and we've got to build on that.
 
"We were really excited about having the challenge of playing Tennessee Tech here in our home arena. We enjoy having our fans come out and watch really good basketball, and we knew that they would have that opportunity today and they certainly did.
 
"I think we're a moment away from some really good things happening for our team," Williams continued. "I do think we're close. Today's score doesn't indicate that, but I do think we're close in so many aspects."
 
ULM outscored Tech from the free-throw line, 21-4.
 
"We drove the ball to the basket and drew some fouls, which was good to see," Williams said. "We believe that's one of the strengths of our team. Today, we felt like taking their defenders off the bounce was an advantage for us. Now, we need to get to the point where we're finishing our opportunities off the bounce at the rim."
 
Owens was one of five players to score in double figures for the visitors. Tech also got 14 points from Guinn, 13 from Hurst and 10 each from Walker and Jordan Brock.
 
Sutton, who posted double figures for the first time this season, led the Warhawks with 14 points to go along with a career-best seven rebounds. She connected on 5-of-9 shots from the field and collected four assists.
 
"Playing Bre Sutton and Olivia Knight together (in the lineup) has been a big help for both of them," Williams said. "We're able to play a little bit faster pace, and that's certainly a strength of ours as a team.
 
"Bre shines in those moments where she can take the ball coast to coast and get to the rim. That's something she did really well today. Bre has worked hard to improve her game offensively, especially in executing in the half court. She was patient, played under control and exploded to get to the rim when the opportunity arose."  
 
Emma Merriweather came off the bench to contribute 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 19 minutes.
 
During its current three-game losing streak, ULM is just 2-of-37 shooting from 3-point distance.
 
"We need to get some production from behind the 3-point line," Williams said. "We have to continue to get in the gym and work on building their confidence. We have some good 3-point shooters, who have been just a little bit off for the last few weeks. If we can get a few of those 3s to drop, it's going to build tremendous confidence for our team."
 
ULM concludes its non-conference schedule on Monday, Dec. 19 against Alcorn at noon. General admission tickets are $5.
 
"We have a quick turnaround with Alcorn coming up on Monday," Williams said. "It's an early game, with a noon tipoff. We're looking forward to making some adjustments and taking them on. We can't wait to take the court again."
 
 
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