Double headed action tipped off inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Thursday night. ULM's women's team picked up a win to move into fifth place in the crowded Sun Belt Conference standings. Men's basketball dropped their seventh straight and moved to 0-4 in conference action.

Brianna Harris posted a season-high 22 points while Daisha Bradford poured in 20 as the ULM women’s basketball team (10-5, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) bounced back at home with a 67-51 win over South Alabama (7-9, 0-4) on Thursday (Jan. 11) at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La.

The Warhawks erased a six-point deficit at the half and outscored the Jaguars 41-19 in the second half to earn their 10th win of the season, the most since the 2018-19 season.

“Brianna was really good tonight,” said ULM women’s basketball head coach Missy Bilderback. “We fell behind, but we kept defending and climbed back into the game.”

Harris shot 9-of-14 from the field and converted a pair of three-point buckets for a game-high 22 points. She pulled down eight boards, including three off the offensive glass, and blocked a pair of shots. Bradford led ULM with five assists and added eight boards and one steal. Jakayla Johnson finished with 13 points and seven rebounds to go along with a pair of steals and one assist. Lauren Gross chipped in a pair of three-point buckets and contributed six points.

ULM held the Jaguars to 24.1% shooting from the field and surrendered just one three-point basket in the second half. The Warhawks shot 40.7% from the field and made 15 free throws to complete the comeback. The ULM defense forced South Alabama to commit 16 turnovers and picked up five steals.

After South Alabama scored the game’s first seven points, Kyjai Miles got the Warhawks on the scoreboard with a layup at the 6:30 mark. On the next possession, Bradford drew a foul and drilled both free throws to trim the margin to three points. Bradford delivered an underhand pass to Gross at the top of the key for a three-pointer to even the score at 7. The Jaguars surged ahead with a 6-0 scoring run and led 13-7 at the end of the first.

Harris put back an offensive board for a layup and knocked down a triple to get the Warhawks with three points at the start of the second quarter. Bradford made a pullup jumper at the free throw line that made the score 18-16 South Alabama. With the Jags leading by four points, Katlyn Manuel hit a step-back shot to pull the Warhawks within two. Johnson dished an assist to Harris and tied the score at 24 with 2:52 to go. A pair of Harris free throws gave ULM its first lead of the game, 26-24. South Alabama again finished the quarter holding ULM scoreless in the final two minutes and opened up a 32-26 lead at the break.

Bradford cut through the lane and sank a jumper to open the scoring in the second half. The Jags held a six-point edge twice in the early stages of the third quarter. Knight dropped off a pass to Gross on the wing for a three to put ULM within three points at 6:39 in the third. Miles found Bradford for a layup and made the score 36-35 in favor of the visitors. Johnson drained a pair of free throws to complete a 6-0 run to give ULM a 37-36 lead. Bradford added two more free throws and extended the run to eight for a three-point advantage. After a South Alabama bucket, Bradford swished a three at the top of the key and made two free throws on the next possession to send ULM ahead, 44-38. Johnson drew a foul and hit two free throws to keep the Warhawks ahead by six at the end of the third quarter.

Johnson skipped a pass to Bradford for a three that extended ULM’s lead to 49-42 early in the fourth. A steal from Bradford led to a pair of Johnson free throws that increased ULM’s advantage to nine. Harris swished her second three-pointer of the night to give ULM its first double-digit lead of the game with 7:40 in the fourth. South Alabama would not come within 12 points of the Warhawks’ lead in the final six minutes of action. ULM secured a 67-51 win at home.

The ULM women’s basketball team will complete its two-game homestand on Saturday (Jan. 13) versus Texas State. The Warhawks and Bobcats will square off at noon from Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

“We needed a win to get back on the right side of things,” said Bilderback. “We have a quality Texas State coming into Monroe on Saturday, and will prepare to face the Bobcats.”

Southern Miss outscored ULM 43-29 in the second half to pull away for a 71-58 win over the Warhawks Thursday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Donovan Ivory led Southern Miss (9-7 overall, 3-1 Sun Belt Conference) with 22 points, while Austin Crowley added 20. Cobie Montgomery chipped in 12 points and Victor Hart tallied an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double. ULM (4-10, 0-4) put three players in double figures, led by Nika Metskhvarishvili’s 14 points. Jalen Bolden had his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Tyreese Watson had 12 points.

Despite some turnovers, ULM started the game hot on the offensive end of the floor. The Warhawks built as much as an eight-point lead, doing so for the first time at 20-12 with 9:12 left in the first half on a jumper by Makai Willis. The lead hovered between six and eight points until Southern Miss limited ULM without a point for the final 4:19 of the half. The Golden Eagles used the time to go on a 6-0 spurt to cut the gap to 29-28 at halftime.

ULM managed just one free throw by Bolden in the first 3:53 of the second half, as the Warhawks went 8:12 of game time without a field goal between the two halves. Southern Miss went ahead for the first time since a 3-2 advantage on three free throws by Ivory at the 18:40 mark, going up 31-30. USM led just 33-30 on Hart’s jumper before Metskhvarishvili ended the field goal drought with a layup to get back within one, 33-32, with 16:03 left.

However, Southern Miss had seized the momentum and built an eight-point lead of its own, 44-36, with 11:26 to go. ULM bounced back. A 3-pointer by Bolden cut the gap to three, 46-43. After Montgomery answered, the Warhawks mounted a 7-1 spurt to tie the game, doing so on Bolden’s acrobatic shot from the right block, resulting in a traditional 3-point play to knot the game at 50 with 5:34 remaining.

The Golden Eagles responded with the next five points, as Crowley drained a jumper and Ivory connected on a 3-pointer. Tyreke Locure hit a jumper from the top of the key to get back within three, 55-52, but four quick points from Ivory extended the lead to seven, 59-52, with 3:07 left. ULM was never closer than five the rest of the way, as USM knocked down free throws to extend the lead.

Southern Miss shot 39% (22-of-56) from the field, 30% (6-of-20) from the 3-point line and 78% (21-of-27) at the free throw line, while ULM hit 37% (22-of-60) from the floor, 19% (3-of-16) from deep and 58% (11-of-19) at the foul line. Rebounding was tied at 39 apiece, with ULM pulling in 13 offensive rebounds to Southern Miss’ nine. The Warhawks committed 16 turnovers to 10 for USM.

ULM concludes a four-game homestand at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Texas State at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.