In the back of her mind, ULM head coach Mona Martin thought about a timeout.
Almost called it, actually. Seconds later, she wished she would have.
A gut-wrenching three-point dagger from North Texas’ Loryn Goodwin with five seconds left allowed the Mean Green (10-15, 9-7) to escape Fant-Ewing Coliseum with a 76-75 victory over the Warhawks (7-17, 5-10) on Thursday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Martin has been doing this long enough to know that it takes more than one play to decide the outcome of a game, but that didn’t stop the coach from second guessing herself.
“The only thing that was going to beat us was the three,” Martin said. “Thinking it over, I probably should have [called timeout] to make sure they knew.”
ULM struggled to defend the three-ball all night, giving up a season-high 10 treys—including seven from Goodwin.
“We talked about it over and over. Whoever had [Goodwin] couldn’t leave her,” Martin said. “You’ve got to figure out that she’s hitting them and we didn’t.”
Alexar Tugler led the Warhawks in scoring with 20 points, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with nine-seconds left that set the stage for Goodwin’s last-second three pointer. Although making the free throw would have prevented ULM from losing on a three, Martin was quick to point out that Tugler kept her team in the game.
“We didn’t lose the game because of one free throw,” Martin said. “Of all our players, that’s the one I wanted fouled. She’s a good free throw shooter. I’m very proud of her play.”
The number of turnovers committed by her team; however, is what stuck in Martin’s craw.
“I see us getting tougher, but 27 turnovers is ridiculous,” Martin said, “When you make mental mistakes you pay the price. Especially in a game like this.”
Up 35-32 at halftime, ULM saw their advantage quickly evaporate thanks to a 7-0 North Texas run early in the second half. The Warhawks regrouped and put together a run of their own, retaking the lead with 9:51 left. ULM held that lead until late in the game.
The Warhawks continued to spread around the offense with three other players scoring in double-digits. Jasmine Shaw finished the game with 14 points, with Elexar Tugler and Alayshia Hunter chipping in with 12 points a piece.
