SAN MARCOS, Texas -- The ULM women's basketball team (18-12, 10-8 Sun Belt) narrowly fell to Texas State (14-17, 4-14) in the regular season finale on Friday (March 1) at Strahan Arena in San Marcos, Texas.

With regular season action wrapped up in the Sun Belt, the Warhawks earned the No. 5 seed in the SBC Championship and will face the winner between No. 12 Georgia Southern and No. 13 Texas State on Wednesday (March 6) at 2 p.m. from Pensacola Bay Center.

In Friday's game, Daisha Bradford and Jakayla Johnson both finished with 15 points apiece. Bradford was three rebounds and three assists away from a triple-double and also added a trio of steals. Johnson led the Warhawks with eight rebounds and contributed a pair of assists. Katlyn Manuel pumped in 12 points and collected two boards and one block. Sania Wells chipped in 11 points and passed four assists.

The Bobcats outrebounded ULM 35-28 and sank 25 free throws compared to ULM's 15. ULM shot 47.3% from the field and drained six 3-point buckets while holding Texas State to just three 3-pointers. The game featured 11 tie scores and nine lead changes.

The Warhawks put together an 8-0 scoring run late in the first quarter and held a 15-7 lead with two minutes left in the opening quarter. The run began with a pair of free throws by Johnson and continued with a Bradford layup, a Wells 3-pointer and two more free throws by Johnson. Johnson knocked down a triple with 1:10 left in the first and increased ULM's lead to nine. Texas State narrowed ULM's lead to four at the end of the first quarter. Olivia Knight swished a 3-pointer on a pass from Bradford to give the Warhawks their first double-digit lead of the game midway through the second. Johnson connected on a pair of free throws that gave the Warhawks their largest lead of the game at 28-16. The Bobcats closed the gap to four points after finishing the half on a 10-2 run, and ULM led 30-26 after 20 minutes of play.

Texas State took the lead with 6:51 left in the third quarter. Wells found Manuel for a jumper in the paint that tied the score at 35. The Bobcats led by as many as four points late in the third quarter. Wells put ULM back in the lead with 36 seconds to go in the quarter with a steal and score. Texas State evened the count at 53-53 before the final horn in the third quarter.

ULM started strong in the fourth quarter with a Bradford steal that led to a Johnson fastbreak layup, and Bradford layup off of her own steal that resulted in a three-point play that put ULM ahead, 58-53. The Bobcats rallied and scored five unanswered points to even the score. The lead swung back into ULM's favor when Johnson added two free throws with 7:02 on the clock. The Bobcats inched in front with a three-point play with 4:20 left in the game. Manuel scored two buckets inside two minutes to go that put the Warhawks back in front, 70-69 with 1:06 to go. After a Texas State bucket, Brianna Harris made a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to put ULM back in front. After Texas State made the first of two free throws on the next possession, the Bobcats corralled the offensive rebound off the miss and earned crucial second-chance points to reclaim the lead, 74-73 with 26 seconds left. Texas State forced a turnover on the next ULM possession and made both free throws to go ahead by three. ULM was unable to tie the game with a three on the final possession, and the Bobcats won the regular season finale, 76-73.

ULM women's basketball will begin the SBC Tournament in the second round as the No. 5 seed and will play either No. 12 Georgia Southern or No. 13 Texas State on Wednesday at 2 p.m. from Pensacola, Florida.