Jakayla Johnson recorded her second consecutive 30-point game and led the way with 31 points, while Daisha Bradford added 15 points as the ULM women's basketball team (21-13) defeated Southern Miss (20-14) for the third time this season in the Super 16 of the WNIT on Wednesday (March 27) night inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
"I want to thank everyone who came out to support us tonight," said ULM head coach Missy Bilderback. "It was an incredible atmosphere, and it was a ton of fun. That created so much energy for our players. I am really proud of our team. Southern Miss had been playing well, and the defensive effort we had against them was incredible. I am proud of our kids for stepping up and finding a way to win."
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, who swept the regular season series versus SBC foe Southern Miss, left no doubt, and defeated the Golden Eagles for the third time this season, holding Southern Miss to 25% shooting in the first half. The visitors made just two 3-pointers. ULM outrebounded the Golden Eagles on the glass by one and forced USM to commit 15 turnovers. The Warhawks turned those turnovers into 19 points, 12 more than the Golden Eagles' seven.
Wednesday night's win marks the 700th win in ULM program history, with the first season beginning in 1974-75.
"This is a program full of great history," remarked Bilderback. "There is so much history here there is so much support from the Monroe community. One thing we talked about in the preseason was that it was time for another banner and to add to that postseason success. I am so grateful that these are the players to be the ones to do this."
The Warhawks played lock-down defense from the jump, holding Southern Miss to 10.5% shooting from the field in the first period. Harris made the first triple of the night to put the Warhawks ahead, 5-2. Knight delivered a pass to Manuel under the basket for a layup to pull the Warhawks ahead by five at the six-minute mark of the first. With the Warhawks leading 12-8, ULM ripped off nine unanswered and controlled a 21-8 lead inside a minute to go in the first. The scoring spree featured a Manuel putback layup, a Knight triple with an assist by Gross, a Johnson layup and a Manuel turnaround jumper. Gross finished a layup on a fastbreak to give the Warhawks a 23-10 lead after one.
Southern Miss trimmed the Warhawks' lead to nine with just over five minutes on the clock in the second quarter. Knight bumped ULM's lead back up to double digits with her second 3-pointer of the night inside four minutes left. Two Harris free throws extended ULM's lead to 13 with 1:47 on the timer. After USM cut the Warhawks' lead to eight, Johnson drew a foul with less than a second to go in the half and sank both free throws to bring the Warhawks' advantage back to 10 points after one half of play.
The Golden Eagles managed to close the gap to seven points within the first five minutes of the third quarter. USM continued to rally and came within four points of ULM's lead at the 3:35 mark. Johnson made a huge floating jumper to end Southern Miss's rally and brought the lead back to six. Johnson continued to score and completed a three-point play to bring ULM's lead back up to nine. Bradford delivered a beautiful pass to Kyjai Miles on a fastbreak to solidify ULM's double-digit lead with 2:34 remaining in the third. A pair of Johnson free throws increased the Warhawks' lead to 16 in the final minute of the fourth. Southern Miss hit a triple before the end of the third and trailed ULM 61-48 heading to the fourth quarter.
Gross made her second three of the night to begin the fourth quarter of action. Bradford picked off a Southern Miss pass and dished it over to Johnson for a fastbreak layup to give ULM its largest lead of the night at 18. The Golden Eagles whittled down ULM's lead to 10 points with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter and forced a ULM timeout. ULM turned the ball over on the next possession, but Gross drew an offensive foul and swung possession back to the Warhawks. Bradford delivered an assist to Manuel and ended Southern Miss's 6-0 run. Johnson floated in the air and made a jumper for her 31st point of the night to pull ULM's advantage to 14. Bradford scored the final five points for ULM to seal the win for the Warhawks, 84-71.
ULM advances to the WNIT Great 8 and will meet the winner between North Carolina A&T and Troy. The game will be played between March 30 and April 1, with the date and location announced after Friday night's game.
"We still have a ballgame to play and still are on a mission," said Bradford. "We need to continue to stay positive and have great energy."
