TIP-OFF    
• The ULM women's basketball team, winners of four-straight Sun Belt Conference games, returns to Fant-Ewing Coliseum to face Arkansas State on Thursday (Jan. 25) at 5 p.m.

• The upstart ULM women's basketball team has recorded 13 wins so far this season, the most in program history since the 2010-11 season. The program won a total of 14 games in the previous three seasons. ULM's current four-game conference winning streak is the longest in ULM history in 13 years.

• Last time out, ULM defeated Southern Miss 70-58 for the first time since 2012 and for the first time inside Reed Green Coliseum since 2005. Nunu Bradford, who surpassed 1,000 career NCAA DI points in Saturday's game, led the Warhawks in scoring with 27 points, hitting 9-of-15 field goal attempts and 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. Bradford was a pair of rebounds shy of a double-double and dished out five assists to go along with one steal. Katlyn Manuel posted 13 points and pulled down six rebounds off the glass. Lauren Gross shined in her return game at Reed Green Coliseum, scoring 11 points with a trio of 3-point baskets. Sania Wells poured in nine points and tallied a pair of rebounds and assists. The Warhawks trailed by two points at the end of the first half, but shot 43.3% from the field and 50% from downtown in the second half to pull away for the win. The Warhawks completed the road trip with a 2-0 record, which included snapping an 18-game losing streak versus the Ragin' Cajuns.

• Nunu Bradford was selected the Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week, the league announced on Tuesday (Jan. 23). Bradford reached the 20-point mark in back-to-back games this week, as ULM has generated its longest conference winning streak in 13 years. In the Warhawks' 65-59 win at the Ragin' Cajuns, Bradford tallied 20 points and added five rebounds, three assists and one steal. Bradford's performance helped the Warhawks snap an 18-game winless streak for ULM versus the Cajuns. In Saturday's 70-58 victory at Southern Miss, Bradford netted 27 points on a 9-for-15 shooting day. She led ULM with eight boards and five assists while adding one steal. Bradford also surpassed 1,000 career Division I points with a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter versus USM.

• The Warhawks entered the Women's Mid Major Top 25 for the first time this season on Tuesday (Jan. 23). ULM was ranked No. 23 in the poll. James Madison (14) also appeared in the latest poll representing the SBC.

• ULM's 2023-24 roster features seven returning players and seven newcomers, with all seven newcomers being transfers from NCAA Division I schools. Nunu Bradford (Clemson), Jakayla Johnson (Auburn) and Sania Wells (Auburn) all played for Power 5 schools, while Lauren Gross (Southern Miss), Brianna Harris (Troy) and Chardai Watkins (Southern Miss) all transferred from inside the Sun Belt Conference. Kyjai Miles transfers in from Central Arkansas. Three of the transfers, Bradford, Johnson and Miles, all played for Missy Bilderback at Jones College. Returning player Olivia Knight also played for Bilderback at Jones.


THURSDAY'S GAME BASICS
ULM and Arkansas State will meet for the 53rd time in history Thursday evening at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe. The Red Wolves lead the all-time series 35-17.

Thursday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Chris Harris (play-by-play) and Mike Vining (analyst) with 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 ARKANSAS STATE
The Red Wolves have won three of their previous four conference games and completed a 2-0 road trip last week at South Alabama and Texas State. Arkansas State enters Thursday with a 10-7 overall record and a 4-3 SBC mark. 

Mizzou transfer Izzy Higginbottom was the first Arkansas State women's basketball player to earn SBC Newcomer of the Year recognition since 1999 and has averaged 18.3 points per game in two seasons in Jonesboro. This season, she leads A-State in scoring with 22.1 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in 10 of 17 of her starts. Arkansas State's roster includes juniors Lauryn Pendleton and Anna Griffin, who both average above 10 points per game. Pendleton has tallied the most steals out of any Arkansas State player this season with 30 while Griffin owns the second-highest rebounding total on the team and averages 5.6 boards per game.

Destinee Rogers begins her second full season leading Arkansas State women's basketball. She served as the team's interim head coach during the 2021-22 season and the interim tag was removed prior to 2022-23. Rogers was an assistant coach on the Arkansas State staff before holding an assistant coaching position at her alma mater, Central Arkansas.

UP NEXT
ULM is set to host Coastal Carolina inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Saturday (Jan. 27) at noon.