TIP-OFF

• The ULM women's basketball team is set for the WNIT Great 8 and will take on Sun Belt Conference foe Troy on the road Monday (April 1) at 6 p.m. from Trojan Arena.

• The Warhawks advanced to the WNIT Quarterfinals after defeating Southern Miss for the third time this season with a 84-71 win inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum in the WNIT Super 16. Jakayla Johnson recorded her second consecutive 30-point game and led the way with 31 points, while Daisha Bradford added 15 points. Johnson shot an impressive 11-for-19 from the field and dished out a team-high five assists to go along with five boards. Bradford snagged five rebounds and handed out a trio of assists. Sun Belt Conference Sixth Woman of the Year Katlyn Manuel started for the Warhawks and notched her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Brianna Harris was the fourth Warhawk in double figures with 10 points to go with seven rebounds. Southern Miss transfer Lauren Gross scored eight points after burying two 3-pointers. The graduate senior guard kicked in four assists in her final game versus her former team. Olivia Knight provided energy off the bench and netted eight points and four assists for the Warhawks.

• The Warhawks won their first postseason game in 39 years and accomplished its first 20-win season since the 2004-05 season after the Warhawks stormed past Grambling State, 102-76, in the WNIT Second Round on Monday. Jakayla Johnson led the way with her third 30-point performance of the season and shot 9-of-16 from the field. The All-SBC Third Team honoree added 11 free throws, eight rebounds and a trio of assists and steals. Brianna Harris poured in 17 points on 60% shooting from the field while grabbing five rebounds and chipping in a pair of assists and steals. Sun Belt Conference Sixth Woman of the Year Katlyn Manuel was one board shy of a double-double after tallying 13 points and tracking down nine boards. Sania Wells scored 12 points while Daisha Bradford had 10 points to wrap up the double-digit scorers for ULM.

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

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 

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.

• Troy won both games versus ULM in the regular season. In game one, the Trojans won 94-83 in Monroe and outrebounded the Warhawks, 66-35 on the glass. Bradford and Johnson both reached the 20-point mark for ULM.  In the second meeting, Troy defended home court with an 81-77 win in Troy and won the rebounding battle by 18. Bradford led ULM with 20 points.

• Record Watch: Nunu Bradford is 29 points shy of breaking the ULM single season scoring record set by Lisa Ingram during the 1982-83 season. Ingram scored 672 points in 29 games during that season. Bradford enters Monday's game with 644 points this season.

• 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 Troy will meet for the 32nd time in history and for the third time this season on Monday night in the Great 8 of the WNIT. Troy leads the all-time series, 17-14 and has defeated ULM each of the previous 12 meetings.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+. 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 TROY

After a 30-point home win in the second round over FIU, Troy went on the road and defeated North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, 89-75 in the Super 16. The Trojans finished second in the SBC standings this season after going 15-3 in Sun Belt play.

Makayia Hallmon, Tai'Sheka Porchia, Ja'Mia Hollings and Leilani Guion all reached double figures in the Trojans game at North Carolina A&T. Hollings, an All-SBC Second Team selection, has recorded 18 consecutive double-digit scoring performances entering Monday's game. Along with Hollings, Porchia (First Team) and Hallmon (Third Team) also landed spots on the All-SBC postseason awards list.

Troy is led by head coach Chanda Rigby. Rigby earned her 450th collegiate win this season when the Trojans defeated Bowling Green in February. She has held coaching experience at Pensacola State, Holmes Community College and Tabor College.