Late-game surges highlight homestand

Kalie Nolan

Comebacks have become a norm for the Warhawks (7-14; 3-7). They allowed a comeback on Thursday and produced one of their own on Saturday.

Thursday night’s match-up saw the Warhawks take on Marshall (12-9; 5-5).

Starting the game out strong, the Warhawks displayed a great defense, holding Marshall to seven points in the first quarter. ULM finished the quarter scoring eight unanswered points to go up 15-7.

During the second quarter, the defensive performance continued with 10 defensive rebounds and three blocks. The Warhawks extended their lead to 13 points, ending the half with a score of 30-17.

“I thought we did some really good things,” coach Brooks Donald Williams said. “Our kids were really locked into our defensive game plan.”

The third quarter is when things started to take a turn. The Warhawks held the lead until less than a minute left in the

quarter when Marshall made a 3-point jumper, resulting in a one-point lead for the Thundering Herd. The quarter ended tied at 41 after a ThThundering Herd free throw.

During the fourth quarter, the game turned into a nail-biter with four lead changes. Marshall went on an 8-0 run, making the game 51-50 Marshall. ULM regained the lead and held it until 17 seconds left when Marshall made a layup, taking the lead 60-59. A questionable foul on the Warhawks that allowed Marshall to shoot a free throw sealed the game.

ULM decided to flip the script Saturday afternoon versus South Alabama.

The Jaguars held the lead in the first quarter, while the Warhawks struggled offensively, only scoring 25% of their field goals. The quarter ended with a 24-12 score.

During the second quarter, the Warhawks never took the lead but did improve their offense, outscoring the Jaguars 17-13 and improving their scored field goal percentage to 35%. The score was 37-29 at halftime.

A technical foul on coach Williams seemed to have flipped a switch for ULM. Within one minute of gameplay, the Warhawks produced three steals and made three field goals resulting in eight-straight points. However, ULM never secured the lead and went into the fourth trailing by 12 points.

In the first seven minutes of the fourth, ULM scored 17 points and held the Jaguars to seven points, tying the game at 63. With a free throw by guard Amaya Ford, ULM got the lead for the first time since the first basket of the game. After a back-and-forth final segment, guard Kierra Brimzy put the game out of reach with a free throw to end the game 69-65.

With the win over South Alabama, ULM broke its eight-game losing streak against the Jaguars. It also snaps its five-game losing streak overall.