MONROE, La. – The ULM women's basketball team (12-12, 5-8 Sun Belt) resume Sun Belt play this week with their first matchup of the season vs. Southern Miss (12-12, 5-7 Sun Belt). Tip-off for Thursday's game at Reed Green Coliseum is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT (Feb. 12). The Warhawks are coming off a 73-64 win at Buffalo to complete a 2-0 MAC-SBC Challenge sweep.
 
SERIES HISTORY –
 
ULM and Southern Miss are set to meet for the 32nd time in their histories. The Golden Eagles lead the series 18-13, which includes a 12-3 advantage in Hattiesburg. However, the Warhawks have taken control of the series in recent years as they have won the last five matchups including the last two away from Monroe. ULM claimed two wins over Southern Miss in the span of a week last season including a 67-55 win in Hattiesburg in their last matchup.
 
FOLLOW THE WARHAWKS –
 
Thursday's game will be available on 99.7 The Legend with Josh McGehee on the call. Streaming will be available for the game on ESPN+. Links to live stats for all games, when available, can be found at ULMWarhawks.com. Navigate to the women's basketball schedule page and select that day's opponent.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES –
 
Southern Miss enters Thursday's game with a 12-12 record overall, having most recently lost 76-67 at Toledo. The Golden Eagles feature five players who average double-digit points highlighted by former Warhawks' Jakayla Johnson (14.8 PPG), Meloney Thames (12.4 PPG) and Sakyia White (11.3 PPG). Southern Miss rank third in the Sun Belt averaging 75.4 points per game as a team while they have also set the top mark for the conference from the free-throw line at 75.1 percent.
 
LEADING THE WAY –
 
ULM's scoring attack has evolved into a triple threat of players averaging at least 9.7 points per game. J'Mani Ingram leads the team with 11.9 PPG and is followed by Nakiyah Mays-Prince (10.4 PPG) and Marcavia Shavers (9.7 PPG).Marcavia Shavers averages 9.2 rebounds per game to lead the team while Nakiyah Mays-Prince has posted a team-best average of 4.5 assists per game. Nakiyah Mays-Prince lead the team in steals with 43 while Keshunti Nichols has recorded a team high 11 blocks. Jazmine Jackson stands as the team's top option from three-point range as she has knocked 40 of her 108 attempts this season.
 
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED –
 
With their 73-64 win at Buffalo on Saturday, ULM not only secured their first road win in MAC-SBC Challenge play but also completed the 2-0 season sweep for the first time in program history having beaten Eastern Michigan 80-71 in November. The win brings the Warhawks' all-time record in MAC-SBC Challenge play to 3-1 with all three wins coming against opponents they had never faced before. ULM joins James Madison and Marshall as the only Sun Belt teams to win both games of this season's MAC-SBC Challenge.
 
FAMILIAR FACES – 
 
The trip to Southern Miss has ULM competing against familiar opponents, many of which were Warhawks a year ago. Head coach Missy Bilderback, along with assistant coaches Lauren Pittman, Lauren Gross and Daisha Bradford all either coached or played for ULM between 2023 and 2025. Familiar players may include Jakayla Johnson, Sakyia White, Meloney Thames and Brikayla Gray, among others.
 
INGRAM REACHES 1K –

Graduate student J'Mani Ingram achieved 1,000 career points for her career in an 18-point performance against Georgia State on February 4. The North Augusta, S.C. native has led the Warhawks in points scored for much of the season and established a new career high vs. Arkansas State when she scored 30 points on a personal-best 12-for-18 shooting from the field. Ingram's point total against the Red Wolves is the most by a Warhawk player in a game this season and was a part of a double-digit scoring streak of 10 games.
 
HISTORIC ROUTE OF RAGIN' CAJUNS –
 
ULM's 102-58 win over their rivals proved to be extra special for a number of reasons. The 44-point margin is the Warhawks' biggest win over the Cajuns in program history and also represents the first time ULM have hung 100 points or more on a Sun Belt team. In addition to the 102 points, the Warhawks also established new single-game season highs for points off turnovers (42), second-chance points (40) and offensive rebounds (31) while also recording their fewest number of turnovers (6).
 
SHAVERS SHINING –
 
Graduate student Marcavia Shavers became the first Warhawk player this season to record a double-double when she did so on New Years Day vs. South Alabama. Shavers scored 17 points behind a career-best eight baskets while also pulling down 17 rebounds. Shavers followed that performance with her third career double-double and her eighth career game of double-digit rebounds as she scored 12 points while recording a career-high 21 rebounds vs. Arkansas State. The 21 rebounds are the most tallied by a Sun Belt player this season. Shavers is now fifth in the Sun Belt Conference with seven double-doubles after posting 13 points and 19 rebounds vs. Georgia State.
 
MARVELOUS MAYS-PRINCE –
 
Senior Nakiyah Mays-Prince has been on an impressive run for the Warhawks in recent games. The Chicago, Ill. native established a new career high of 23 points while tying her career high of six steals vs. Troy before posting her first double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 assists against the Cajuns. Mays-Prince is the first ULM player to dish out 10 assists in a game since Daisha Bradford against Georgia Southern in 2024. The senior point guard leads the Sun Belt with an average of 4.5 assists per game and has now recorded at least four assists in all but six games this season.
 
OUTSTANDING ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS –
 
The Warhawks completed their game at Indiana with a 19-1 advantage in offensive rebounds. The last time the Warhawks held an opponent to one offensive rebound was against UT Arlington in 2021. ULM are now second in the Sun Belt and are ranked seventh in the nation in offensive rebounding, averaging 16.2 offensive rebounds per game with a season high of 31 against the Cajuns.
 
BENCH BOOST –
 
The Warhawk reserves have been the offensive catalysts for the team this season. ULM are ranked second in the Sun Belt and 12th in the nation averaging 27.6 bench points per game. ULM's bench was responsible for exactly half of the team's 80 points vs. Eastern Michigan, the most points scored in a game by the reserves since last season's 117-60 season opening win vs. Central Baptist. After surpassing the 30-point threshold just once last season, the Warhawk bench has done so already 10 times this season including a high of 54 as a unit against the Ragin' Cajuns.
 
FREQUENTLY FORCING TURNOVERS –
 
ULM continued their proficient season of forcing mistakes out of their opponents at South Alabama as they forced a season high 29 turnovers. The Warhawks are ranked inside the top-45 in all of Division I with 20.2 turnovers forced per game. ULM have seen three different players establish new career highs for steals in a game this year. Graduate student Keshunti Nichols recorded four steals vs. Louisiana Tech, junior Kamille Brown posted five steals vs. Grambling State and graduate student Asia Barclay notched five steals at Alabama. As a team, the Warhawks are inside the top-45 teams in Division I averaging 10.7 steals per game having recorded a season high of 20 also against the Jaguars.
 
UP NEXT –
 
The Warhawks will remain on the road as they prepare to face Troy on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14). Tipoff against the Trojans is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Saturday.