TIP-OFF

• The ULM women's basketball team will make its first postseason appearance in 30 years on Monday night when the Warhawks take on nearby foe Grambling State in the second round of the WNIT at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The two teams from Northeast Louisiana meet for the 15th time in history and for the first time the two teams will clash on the postseason stage.

• ULM has had one of the most exciting turnarounds in women's college basketball this season. ULM is coming off of a 19-13 season and earned the most victories in program history since the 2005-06 season. The historic turnaround season comes after the program won a total of 14 games over the previous three seasons. ULM reached the Sun Belt Quarterfinals for the first time since 2013 and won its first SBC Tournament game in 11 years with a second round win over Georgia Southern. The 2023-24 team earned its highest Sun Belt regular season finish in 13 years and went on the largest conference winning streak since the 2007 season.

• ULM won its first SBC Tournament game earlier this month with an impressive 78-57 second round win over Georgia Southern on Wednesday. Jakayla Johnson led the way with 25 points, while Daisha Bradford recorded her first triple-double of the season in the win. ULM snapped a seven-game winless streak at the Sun Belt Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals round for the first time since 2013. 

Bradford's triple-double featured 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and it was the first time a ULM women's basketball player recorded a triple-double at the Sun Belt Tournament. Johnson, an All-SBC Third Team selection, shot an impressive 10-for-13 from the field and drained 5-of-6 shot attempts from the 3-point line. The Sun Belt Sixth Woman of the Year, Katlyn Manuel, pumped in 12 points and tracked down a trio of offensive rebounds. Sania Wells had seven points and six assists, while Lauren Gross chipped in seven points. Sha'Miya Butler 

provided valuable minutes off the bench after scoring five points and tacking on five boards. 

The Warhawks outrebounded Georgia Southern, one of the top rebounding teams in the country, 50-47. ULM held the Eagles scoreless for over eight minutes in the opening quarter and seized a 20-6 lead after one quarter of play and cruised to victory.

• The Warhawks narrowly fell 67-64 in the SBC Quarterfinals to Old Dominion. After trailing by 16 points with 2:53 to go in the third quarter, the Warhawks, who appeared in the SBC Quarterfinals for the first time since 2013, stormed back and snatched the lead with less than two minutes to go. Old Dominion recaptured its lead in the final minute, and escaped with a three-point win to advance to the semifinals.

SBC Newcomer of the Year Daisha Bradford finished with a game-high 27 points and was two rebounds shy from registering a double-double. She added a trio of steals and a pair of assists in her performance. Brianna Harris tallied 12 points and added five rebounds and one block. All-SBC Third Team honoree Jakayla Johnson reached double figures with 10 points and kicked in a pair of assists, four rebounds and one steal.

• The Warhawks were well represented on the SBC Women's Basketball 2023-24 postseason awards list. Nunu Bradford became the first ULM women's basketball player to win conference Newcomer of the Year since 1988, and also earned a spot on the All-SBC Second Team. Katlyn Manuel was named the SBC Sixth Woman of the Year, becoming the first Warhawk in program history to win the honor. Jakayla Johnson joined Bradford as a member of the all-conference team and received All-SBC Third Team honors. With Bradford and Johnson earning all-conference recognition, it marks the first time multiple ULM women's basketball players appeared on an All-SBC team in program history, and the first time more than one ULM player landed a spot on an all-conference team since 2001.

Bradford, a transfer from Clemson, was one of the most electrifying guards in the conference this season. The Mobile, Ala., native appeared on the SBC leaderboard in a plethora of statistical categories including fourth in scoring (19.4 points per game), third in defensive rebounding (5.7 defensive rebounds per game), third in 3-point field goals per game (2.3/game), fifth in assists (4.3 assists per game), seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.4), seventh in rebounding (7.5 rebounds/game) and 10th in free-throw percentage (78.2%). She also led ULM with 50 steals and reached double figures in all but three games, including a trio of 30-point games. Bradford was named SBC Player of the Week on Jan. 23 and earned LSWA Women's Basketball Player of the Week three times, the most out of any ULM women's basketball player.

Manuel, a three-year letterwinner at ULM, provided 10.2 points per game and 5.7 boards per game off the bench for the Warhawks this season. The Lawtell, La., native turned in three double-doubles and shot 52.7% from the field, the highest average out of any ULM player with at least 25 attempts. Manuel led the Warhawks with 30 blocks and ranked fifth in the SBC with 1.0 blocks per game.

Johnson, a junior from Clinton, Miss., was ULM's second-leading scorer and averaged 15.2 points per game, the ninth-highest average in the conference. Johnson reached double figures in 24 games and eclipsed the 30-point mark in two games. The Auburn transfer ranked fourth in the conference with an 83.6 free throw percentage and was the top free throw shooter for ULM. Johnson won LSWA Player of the Week honors on Jan. 29.

• The Warhawks are 4-13 in Sun Belt Conference Tournament games, and have never reached the SBC Tournament Semifinals in program history. The Warhawks have reached the quarterfinals three times, doing so in 2013, 2011 and 2009.

 • 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.

MONDAY'S GAME BASICS

ULM and Grambling State will meet for the 15th time in history on Monday night in the second round of the WNIT. Grambling leads the all-time series, 10-4, and have won the last six meetings.

Monday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Sean Fox 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 GRAMBLING STATE

The Tigers earned its first 20-plus win season since 2002-03 and finished second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference under first-year head coach Courtney Simmons. Grambling State secured a spot in the WNIT Second Round after a thrilling 93-91 road win at Oral Roberts on Thursday.

Junior guard Kahia Warmsley is Grambling's leading scorer. The Shreveport native has averaged 10.0 points per game in 23 appearances for the Tigers. Point guard Douthshine Prien has dished out a team-high 108 assists. Her 4.0 assists per game ranked second in the SWAC this season, while her 60 steals were sixth on the conference leaderboard. Anijah Grant led the Tigers with 7.2 boards per game, which was the seventh-highest average in the conference.

Simmons, the leader of the Tigers, was previously the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at fellow SBC member Troy. While on the staff at Troy, Simmons helped lead the Trojans to five SBC Championships and six postseason appearances, including a trio of WNIT berths. The Baton Rouge native also spent a season coaching at Louisiana Tech and played at Louisville from 2006-08.