TIP-OFF    
• The ULM women's basketball team prepares for its Sun Belt Conference opener versus James Madison on Saturday (Dec. 30) in Monroe, Louisiana. The Warhawks and the Dukes will play inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Saturday's contest will be the first time ULM and James Madison square off in women's basketball.

• After putting together the program's longest winning streak (8) since the 2006-07 season, the Warhawks dropped consecutive contests versus Power 5 opponents on the road, falling at Alabama and at California before the holiday break.

• In ULM's last outing, three Warhawks finished in double figures with Jakayla Johnson and Daisha Bradford both scoring 14 points. Bradford dished out a game-high seven assists while Johnson added three boards and one block. Brianna Harris registered double figures for the second time in her ULM career with 13 points. The Warhawks were held to two three-point buckets on 21 attempts and were outrebounded by the Bears 54-32 in the loss.

• The Warhawks are 4-0 this season playing inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum. In home games, ULM averaged 90.5 points per game and has shot 46.6% from the field while limiting opponent scoring to 53.3 points per game.

• Last season, ULM snapped a 10-game losing streak in conference openers dating back to the 2012-13 season after defeating Arkansas State at Fant-Ewing Coliseum, 81-66, on Dec. 29, 2022. Olivia Knight who set season highs with 17 points and seven rebounds, led all five ULM starters in scoring to lead the Warhawks to a win in the SBC opener.

SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS    
ULM and JMU meet for the first time in history Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Chris Harris (play-by-play) and Mike Vining (analyst) on the call. The game also will air on KMLB 105.7 FM/540 AM and the TuneIn app on the Warhawk Radio Network from Learfield with Ben Milam on the play-by-play.

PREVIEWING JAMES MADISON
The Dukes have compiled an 8-4 record during the 2023-24 season and sits 10th in the CollegeInsider.Com Mid-Major Top 25 poll on Dec. 26. JMU was the highest-ranked team in the Sun Belt with Old Dominion (No. 15) and Southern Miss (No. 20) also appearing in the Top 25. ULM and Georgia Southern received votes in the poll. The Dukes rattled off three-straight wins versus Wake Forest, William & Mary and Maine before falling to Maryland on Dec. 20.

JMU is one of the top rebounding teams in the country and ranks third in the nation in rebounds per game (49.0) and defensive rebounds per game (34.2) while maintaining the ninth-highest rebound margin (14.9). Offensively, the Dukes score an average of 70.5 points per game (8th in the SBC) and shoot 41.3% from the field (4th in the SBC). JMU's field goal percentage defense ranks second in the conference at 34.7%.

Three Dukes average double-figure scoring with Peyton McDaniel leading the charge with 12.7 points per game. The 2023 Sun Belt Sixth Woman of the Year is the Dukes' leading rebounder and averages 8.0 rebounds per game. Redshirt junior center Kseniia Kozlova has totaled 20 points in two of her last three games and averages 11.4 points per contest while redshirt junior guard Jamia Hazell has finished in double figures in six of JMU's 12 games this season.

JMU alumnus Sean O'Regan is in his eighth season guiding the JMU women's basketball program. O'Regan led the Dukes to a historic 26-8 season that included JMU's first Sun Belt Championship Tournament crown and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Under O'Regan's watch, the Dukes have won 20 or more games in five seasons and qualified for the WNIT three times.

UP NEXT
ULM women's basketball will begin 2024 on the road at Georgia State in its first road conference game of the season on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 6:30 p.m. EST/5:30 p.m. CST.