MONROE, Louisiana – HBU women's basketball falls to ULM in non-conference women's basketball Tuesday evening at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
"Boxing out and limiting second chance opportunities was a big key for us pre-game and we didn't do it, "head coach
Donna Finnie said. "Credit to ULM. They took advantage of that. Megan played her butt off tonight. For a freshman point guard to lead her team the way she did was incredible. We now need that every game from her."
Sophomore guard
Sophie Taylor and junior guard
Amanda Johnson led the Huskies (4-5). Taylor shot 30.0 percent from the field with 15 points, four boards and four assists. Johnson shot 33.3 percent from the field and went 2-of-5 from behind the arc with 15 points and six rebounds. Freshmen guard
Megan Valdez-Crader shot 50.0 percent from the floor for a career-high 14 points and brought down five rebounds. Sophomore guard
Sydney Carr scored 11 points and led the Huskies with seven boards. Sophomore guard
Britta Daub contributed nine points and three assists, while junior center
Veronika Kirienko added six points and three blocks.
ULM (3-7) was led by Gabrella Cortez, who shot 41.7 percent from the floor and went 2-of-4 from the 3-point range with 20 points and seven boards. Arsula Clark went 57.1 percent from the field, scored 19 points and brought down six rebounds. Jessica Harris accounted for 11 points, three steals and three rebounds for the Warhawks.
HBU shot 36.8 percent from the floor, went 4-of-14 from the 3-point line and 27-of-33 from behind the line. ULM shot 40.3 percent from the floor, went 5-of-11 behind the arc and 18-of-26 from the free-throw line. The Warhawks outrebounded the Huskies 45-34 and 18-10 offensively, which led to a 17-9 advantage in second chance points.
The Huskies trailed early in the first quarter, 8-3, but buckets by Valdez-Crader, Kirienko, Carr, and Daub put the Huskies ahead with their first lead, 13-12. ULM took the lead with 48 seconds to go in the first, but a foul by the Warhawks sent Daub to the line to gain the advantage, 17-16 at the end of the first.
The Warhawks took the lead after an 8-2 run to start the second quarter. Taylor answered back with seven points out of the 10-point run by both teams. ULM responded with a shot from the 3-point range, but seconds later Johnson drained a three to cut the Warhawks lead to one point. With one minute left in the first, Johnson shot from behind the arc to tie the game. Valdez-Crader added two with a shot in the paint to lead ULM 40-38 at the half.
Early in the third quarter, back-to-back buckets by Valdez-Crader lifted the Huskies' lead to as many as four points. The Warhawks scored the next eight points to take the lead. A 3-point run by Carr put the Huskies within one, but ULM answered back with the next seven points. Valdez-Crader, Carr and Kirienko contributed to a six point run that tied the game with less than two minutes to go in the third. After back-to-back shots by the Warhawks, Calver and Carr put away the last four points, trailing 60-59.
Late in the fourth quarter the Huskies trailed by six points. With less than two minutes to go, Taylor brought HBU within three points, after a shot from the 3-point range, but ULM answered back with a four point run to increase their lead to seven points. Daub accounted for all five points of the Huskies last efforts, including a bucket from behind the arc.
HBU closes its two-game Louisiana swing at Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 6:30 p.m. The Huskies will return to Sharp Gym to open Southland Conference play against Lamar on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m.
