BEAUMONT, Texas -- The ULM women's basketball team fell to Lamar on Saturday, 71-60, at Neches Arena at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas.
ULM (3-4) dropped its fourth-straight game and was held to 34.5% shooting from the field and 1-of-11 from beyond the arc. Lamar (4-3) led wire-to-wire and made 46% of its field goals while outrebounding the Warhawks 46-34 on the glass. The Warhawks held the Cardinals to just a pair of 3-point field goals, but Lamar managed to score 42 points in the paint for the victory.
Cianté Downs recorded a season-high 16 points, which included 10 made free throws, and also secured four rebounds and added one assist.
Jakayla Johnson had 15 points and a team-high three assists.
Brikayla Gray rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
Meloney Thames added nine points and five boards while
Katlyn Manuel led the team with nine rebounds and scored seven points and grabbed three steals.
For the Cardinals, Sabria Dean led the way with 15 points. Akasha Davis finished the game with a double-double after netting 12 points and securing 11 rebounds. T'Aaliyah Miner scored 10 for Lamar.
Davis scored the first three points of the game from a free throw and a layup following a steal. Thames produced the first three points for ULM after Downs passed an assist for a layup and she made a free throw. Lamar regained the lead with a 5-0 scoring run. Johnson made ULM's lone three-pointer of the quarter to pull the Warhawks within two points late in the opening quarter. The Cards wrapped up the first quarter on a 6-2 scoring run that concluded with a Dean triple.
Lamar secured its first double-digit lead after Dean made a step back jumper midway through the second quarter. ULM managed to trim the deficit to five points at the end of the first half with a Manuel putback layup and a Downs breakaway layup before the final horn of the second quarter.
The Warhawks continued to cut into Lamar's lead early in the third quarter. Following a basket by the Cardinals, Manuel muscled through contact and converted a three-point play to bring ULM within four. On the defensive side of the floor, Manuel jarred loose a steal that led to a
Laila Walker three-point play to cut Lamar's lead to one. The Cardinals regrouped and pushed the lead back to 10 points after scoring six unanswered with 3:51 remaining in the period. Lamar maintained a double-digit lead at the end of the third quarter.
A Downs free throw and a Johnson jump shot opened the scoring for ULM in the third and whittled Lamar's advantage to nine. The Cardinals regained their double-figure lead and ULM was unable to trim the deficit to less than 10 down the final stretch.
The Warhawks are back in action Wednesday (Dec. 11) in Atlanta for a midweek road game at Georgia Tech with tipoff set for noon central.
