TIP-OFF    
• The ULM women's basketball team, winners of three-straight Sun Belt Conference games, concludes a two-game road trip at Southern Miss on Saturday (Jan. 20) at noon. The Warhawks and Golden Eagles will square off inside the Reed Green Coliseum at noon on Saturday.

• The upstart ULM women's basketball team has recorded 12 wins so far this season, the most in program history since the 2015-16 season. The program won a total of 14 games in the previous three seasons. 

• Last time out, ULM edged the Ragin' Cajuns on the road, 65-59. For the first time since 2015, the Warhawks defeated the Ragin' Cajuns and snapped an 18-game winless streak versus the Cajuns. Katlyn Manuel recorded her second double-double in as many games while Daisha Bradford led the way with a game-high 20 points. Manuel, a junior forward from Lawtell, La., provided 14 points and 10 boards off the bench and shot 7-for-11 from the field. Bradford registered 20 points and sank nine free throws to go along with five rebounds and a trio of assists. Jakayla Johnson played all 40 minutes and was one board shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Brianna Harris rounded out the double-digit scorers for ULM with 10 points and added seven rebounds. Lauren Gross converted a pair of 3-point buckets and scored eight points in the first half.
 
The Warhawks won the rebounding margin by five and outrebounded the Cajuns 38-33. ULM shot 41.5% from the field and limited the Ragin' Cajuns to 38.9% shooting. ULM capitalized on 13 points off turnovers and poured in eight second-chance points to its final score.

• Five Warhawks are from the state of Mississippi, the most represented state on the roster. Amaya Ford, Lauren Gross, Jakayla Johnson, Olivia Knight and Sania Wells all are from the Magnolia State. ULM has a pair of Southern Miss transfers on its roster: Gross and Chardai Watkins. Gross appeared in 64 games and started in 35 as a Golden Eagle and led USM in 3-point field goals during her final season in Hattiesburg. Watkins appeared in 30 games her freshman year at Southern Miss.

Additionally, three coaches on the ULM staff are Southern Miss graduates, including head coach Missy Bilderback. Bilderback graduated with her bachelor's degree in coaching and sports administration from USM in 2001 after competing as a point guard at Pearl River Community College. Associate Head Coach Lauren Pittman won a trio of letters as a forward at Southern Miss, earning Conference USA All-Freshman honors in 2006-07. Devin Cooper is a 2018 graduate of Southern Miss.

SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS    
ULM and Southern Miss will meet for the 27th time in history Saturday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series 18-8.

Thursday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+. 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 SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss began the 2023-24 campaign with a 7-0 start, including an upset win over No. 19/20 Ole Miss on Dec. 2 in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles then dropped seven consecutive games, including the first four conference matchups. After an 0-4 start to SBC play, the Golden Eagles have won their last two games, defeating South Alabama and Georgia State inside Reed Green Coliseum. 

The Golden Eagles are efficient on offense, and have recorded the top team field goal percentage in the conference (44.5%). USM has the third-lowest turnover margin (-0.25) in the league and third-most turnovers per game rate (17.0) in the SBC. 2022-23 Sun Belt Conference First-Team recipient Domonique Davis has begun her senior season leading USM in scoring and ranks third on the league's scoring leaderboard. Davis, a DeRidder, La. native, averages 21.7 points per game and has scored 1,304 points while wearing a Southern Miss uniform in three seasons. Former Conference USA Freshman of the Year Melyia Grayson scored a season-high 24 points in the Golden Eagles' victory versus South Alabama and is averaging 13.2 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Former USM women's basketball player Joye Lee-McNelis returned to Hattiesburg to lead her alma mater in 2004 and has racked up over 300 wins at the helm the program. Lee-McNelis landed her first head coaching job at Memphis and recorded 229 wins with the Tigers from 1991-2004 before returning to USM. She is three wins away from 550 career victories as a head coach.

UP NEXT
The Warhawks will travel back to Monroe and welcome Arkansas State on Thursday (Jan. 25) to Fant-Ewing Coliseum at 5 p.m.