BOONE, N.C. – The ULM women's basketball team (15-8, 7-5 Sun Belt Conference) cut App State's (12-11, 6-6) lead to one point in the final minute, but the Mountaineers edged the Warhawks 78-71 on Wednesday (Feb. 7) night at Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, N.C.
 
The Mountaineers led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter and led for over 38 minutes in the game. App State outrebounded the Warhawks by nine and outscored ULM 30-26 in the paint. The Warhawks forced 21 turnovers and picked up four steals while capitalizing on 24 points off of turnovers. ULM shot 37.1% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the arc and limited App State to 29.2% shooting from three-point range.
 
Jakayla Johnson led the Warhawks with 21 points on a 7-for-14 shooting performance and added three rebounds and an assist and a steal. Daisha Bradford recorded her third double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Bradford also contributed two steals and a block. Sania Wells and Lauren Gross both finished in double figures with Wells leading the team with six assists and Gross knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. Katlyn Manuel poured in nine points and four rebounds.
 
After Wells found Bradford on a back door cut for a layup, App State's Emily Carver buried a three-pointer at the 7:16 mark in the first quarter that concluded a 9-0 scoring run for the Mountaineers that gave the home team a 9-2 lead. Wells made the Warhawks' first triple of the night to make it a five-point game in the early stages of the first. App State padded its lead to 10 points with 2:12 on the clock in the first quarter. Both teams were held scoreless in the final two minutes with App State leading 16-6 after one quarter.
 
Carver again swished a three that increased App State's lead to 13 at the beginning of the second period. The Warhawks rattled off six-straight points and trimmed the deficit to seven with 8:10 remaining. After App State seized an 11-point lead, Johnson grabbed a defensive rebound and dribbled the ball coast-to-coast for a layup and a foul to make it an eight-point game. Kyjai Miles found Johnson for a layup to put ULM within six with 4:32 in the half. Following a Mountaineer shot clock violation, Brianna Harris dished out an assist to Manuel and ULM made the score 28-23 in favor of the home team. App State regained a double-digit lead after closing out the first half on a 10-5 run and held a 38-28 lead at the break.
 
Johnson completed another three-point play that decreased App State's lead to 42-35 at the 6:39 mark in the third quarter. The Mountaineers extended their lead to 51-36 following a 9-1 scoring run and collected their largest lead of the night. Miles dropped off an assist to Manuel for a bucket that brought ULM within five points with 2:09 in the quarter. App State carried a 57-51 advantage into the final quarter.

App State brought its lead back to double-digits to start the fourth quarter. Wells connected on a jump shot to put ULM back within five points at the 7:28 mark. Wells aired out a pass to Gross in the corner for a 3-pointer off an inbounds pass that cut App State's lead to two points with just over five minutes in the final quarter. Following an App State scoring run, Gross sank two free throws and Manuel made a jumper to bring the score back to a one-possession game. App State went back up six points with 1:23 in the last period. Gross again connected on a longball in the corner to pull ULM within three with just over one minute remaining. After a ULM defensive stop, Bradford was fouled on a rebound and made two free throws that made it a one-point game with 37 seconds left. App State managed to make six free throws and hold ULM scoreless the rest of the way and survived at home with a 78-71 win.

The ULM women's basketball team continues its road trip on Saturday (Feb. 10) when the Warhawks complete the final leg of the SBC-MAC Challenge at Toledo at Noon ET/11 a.m. CT.