TIP-OFF
• The ULM women's basketball team celebrates Senior Day on Saturday (Feb. 24) and will play its final home game of the regular season versus the top team in the Sun Belt Conference standings, Marshall. The game is set for a noon start inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
• The Warhawks bounced back on Thursday night and earned their 17th win of the season with a comeback win over Southern Miss, 57-52. ULM shot 58.3% in the final quarter and utilized a 13-0 scoring run to control the lead in the final minutes. The Warhawks dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring its opposition 22-10 in the last period.
Jakayla Johnson scored a game-high 16 points and poured in seven during the fourth quarter. She added a six boards, four assists and one steal. Brianna Harris finished in double figures with 11 points and led ULM with three steals. Lauren Gross sank a trio of 3-pointers versus her former team and chased down a pair of steals. Katlyn Manuel registered eight points and three rebounds while Sania Wells added seven points. Nunu Brad- ford grabbed six rebounds and tallied six points.
• ULM women's basketball will be recognizing five seniors before Saturday's game:
Nunu Bradford | Mobile, Ala. | Played in 91 career games while making 80 starts ... Enters Saturday with 1,144 points, 475 rebounds and 297 assists in her career ... She surpassed 1,000 career points at the Division 1 level on a 3-pointer in a win at Southern Miss in January ... Voted Sun Belt Player of the Week once this season, and Louisiana Sports Writers Association Player of the Week three times
Lauren Gross | Southaven, Miss. | Played one season at ULM after transferring from Southern Miss ... Played in 114 games while making 62 starts in her career ... To- taled 564 points on 128 made three pointers ... Scored a career-high 20 points at Georgia Southern this season ... Currently pursuing a Doctoral Degree
Brianna Harris | Mobile, Ala. | Completed her final sea- son at ULM after transferring from Troy ... Made 112 career appearances while making 51 starts ... Totaled 676 points and 459 rebounds ... Pursuing a master's degree at ULM
Kyjai Miles | Dallas, Texas | Transferred from Central Arkansas and finished her career at ULM ... Appeared in 78 career games while making 54 starts ... Totaled 294 career points and 419 rebounds ... Currently pursuing a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy
Sania Wells | Moss Point, Miss. | Finished her final season at ULM after transferring from Auburn ... Played in 131 games while making 57 starts ... Totaled 815 career points, 188 assists and 238 rebounds and hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Coastal Carolina in a thrilling comeback win
• With the Warhawks' win at South Alabama, the ULM secured its first winning season since 2010-11 with 16 wins. The program won a total of 14 games in the previous three seasons. ULM's six-game conference winning streak in January was the longest in ULM history in 19 years. The Warhawks strung together the longest conference winning streak (six games) since the 2004-05 team, who won 11-straight conference games to conclude the regular season.
SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
ULM and Marshall will meet for the first time this season on Saturday inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum at noon.. The all-time series between the two schools is split. The Warhawks edged Marshall with a 69-67 win in West Virginia during the 2008 season while the Thundering Herd edged ULM 61-59 last season.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Chris Harris and Mike Vining 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 MARSHALL
Marshall has taken the reins of the top position in the Sun Belt standings after being predicted to finish ninth in the SBC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Herd bring a 14-1 conference record into Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Saturday, with the only loss on the schedule coming versus James Madison.
Abby Beeman, a Division II transfer from Shepherd University, has reached double figures in all but two games this season, and averages 16.6 points per game to lead the Thundering Herd. Breanna Campbell (14.7 ppg) and Aislynn Hayes (14.3 ppg) round out the top-three Marshall scorers.
After building a Division II women's basketball powerhouse at Glenville State, Kim Caldwell was named the head coach of Marshall women's basketball before the 2023-24 season. Caldwell led the Pioneers to the 2022 NCAA DII National Title after finishing with a 35-1 overall record and a 22-0 record in the Mountain East Conference. Caldwell was named the 2022 WBCA NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year. She guided GSU back to the NCAA DII Elite Eight in 2023 and compiled a record of 191-24 in her seven seasons in Glen- ville, West Virginia.
UP NEXT
The ULM women's basketball team will conclude regular season play with a two-game road trip starting Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Jonesboro, Arkansas versus Arkansas State.
