ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks begin the final weekend of the regular season by entertaining the Georgia Southern Eagles. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Thursday's game will air on ESPN+ with Chris Harris on play-by-play and Mike Vining as the analyst. The game will also be broadcast on 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app on the Warhawk Radio Network from Learfield with Mike Hammett on the play-by-play.

Thursday's game is the 12th all-time meeting between ULM and Georgia Southern, with the Warhawks leading the series, 6-5. The two teams have not met since the 2019-20 season, when the Eagles swept the season series, winning Jan. 2, 2020, 64-47, in Statesboro and again, 72-66, on Feb. 13, 2020, in Monroe. ULM last defeated the Eagles in 2019-20, when the Warhawks swept the season series. ULM won, 58-57, on Jan. 10, 2019, in Monroe, and again, 80-62, on Feb. 9, 2019, 80-62, in Statesboro. 

Second-year freshman Kyren Whittington has reached double figure scoring in nine consecutive games and 11 of the last 12 contests. She reached double figures on Saturday vs. the Ragin' Cajuns on the strength of free throw shooting, scoring 14 points while shooting 8-of-10 from the foul line in the 73-53 loss to the Cajuns. Whittington is averaging 14.9 points per game, which ranks sixth in the SBC, and 18.1 points per game within SBC play, which is fifth in the conference.

Fifth-year redshirt junior Kierra Brimzy scored a career-high 16 points on Saturday vs. the Ragin' Cajuns. Brimzy accounted for a majority of ULM's offense in the first half, scoring 15 of the team's 20 points while shooting 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the 3-point line in the first half. Brimzy, a Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team selection, has battled a knee injury all season, averaging 4.1 points per game after averaging 13.9 points per game last season.

True freshman Amaya Ford scored 13 points on Saturday, marking the fifth time she has reached double figure points this season. It also marks her best scoring output within SBC play. She shot 6-for-11 from the field. She also scored 11 points vs. Texas State on Dec. 30 for her two double figure games within SBC play.

Georgia Southern is 16-8 overall and 7-5 in the Sun Belt Conference and enters the final two games of the season with a chance to finish anywhere from third to seventh in the SBC. The Eagles have won five of their last six games but are coming off Saturday's 82-70 loss at Troy.

The Eagles are led by Terren Ward. Her 16.3 points per game is good for fifth in the SBC and she also tracks down 7.9 rebounds per game, which is seventh in the SBC. Inside SBC play, her averages increase to 18.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, which both rank fourth in the conference. She leads the SBC in 3-point field goal percentage (.392). She also ranks third in the SBC at 2.2 steals per game.

Guard Mya Burns is second on the team at 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and is fifth in the SBC at 1.6 3-pointers made per game. Ja'nya Love-Hill leads the team at 3.2 assists per game, which is seventh in the SBC, and adds 8.3 points per game. Taya Gibson is fourth on the team at 7.1 points per game and leads the SBC in field goal percentage (.558). Eden Johnson (sixth, 1.0 blocks per game) and Maya Banks (eighth, 1.0 bpg.) each rank in the Top 10 in the SBC in blocks per game. 

As a team, Georgia Southern leads the SBC in scoring (80.0 points per game) and steals (11.6 spg.), ranks second in scoring margin (+12.2 ppg.), blocked shots (4.0 bpg.), defensive rebounds (29.8 rpg) and rebounding offense (46.5 pg.) and is third in free throw percentage (.695), offensive rebounds (16.8 rpg.) and rebounding margin (+7.2 rpg.).