IP-OFF

• The ULM women's basketball team will play in its first Sun Belt Conference Quarterfinal game in 11 years on Friday (March 8) when the Warhawks take on Old Dominion at 2 p.m. inside the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.

• ULM earned a spot in the conference quarterfinals after 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.

• ULM secured the fifth seed in the SBC Tournament after finishing the regular season with a conference record of 10-8. It marks the first time the Warhawks finished in the top five in the Sun Belt regular season standings since 

the 2010-11 season. The Warhawks' 18 regular season wins is the highest win total in 16 years and ULM won a stretch of six-consecutive conference games during January, which was the longest conference winning streak since the 2004-05 season.

• 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.

FRIDAY'S GAME BASICS

ULM and Old Dominion will meet for the first time this season on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the SBC Championships. The Monarchs and Warhawks have played twice in history and met in the 1985 Final Four with ODU winning 57-47. ULM traveled to Norfollk last January and fell on the road to the Monarchs.

Friday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Noah Frary and Kelley Deyo 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 Mike Hammett on the play-by-play.

PREVIEWING OLD DOMINION

Old Dominion earned a double-bye in the Sun Belt Tournament after placing fourth with a 12-6 conference record. The Monarchs are 21-8 overall, and won six of its last eight regular season games.

The Monarchs have gotten the job done on the defensive end of the court all season long and have surrendered an average of just 60.0 points per game versus their opponents. Led by 2024 SBC Defensvie Player of the Year Kaye Clark, ODU ranked second in the conference in steals per game and finished inside the top 30 nationally. Clark led the Sun Belt with 87 steals, which was the 13th-highest total in the country. En'Dya Buford, who played under Coach Missy Bilderback at Jones College, claimed All-SBC Third Team accolades after finishing second in the conference with 69 steals and averaged 12.4 points per game.

Standout WNBA player and two-time Olympic gold medalist DeLisha Milton-Jones was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022 and is in her fourth season in charge of ODU women's basketball. Under her watch, she has won over 80 games in four seasons in Norfolk, including leading the Monarchs to a WNIT appearance in 2021-22.