NEW ORLEANS - ULM overcame poor shooting by gaining the advantage on
the glass in holding on to a 63-58 win over the University of New
Orleans on Saturday night at Lakefront Arena.
ULM (8-12, 2-8 Sun Belt) grabbed 52 rebounds, including 26 offensively to help overcome a 32.4 percent clip from the field.
The Warhawks, who snapped a six-game losing streak, had four players in double-figures led by Priscilla Mbiandja's 17 points. Mbiandja shot 9 of 10 from the charity stripe while connecting on just 4 of 20 shots from the field.
Brittany Helm scored 13 points - 11 in the first half - as UNO (7-13, 1-8 SBC) fell for the fourth straight contest.
Talisha Bridges added 12 points with
Tiffina' Bennett and
Nicole Holmes scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Building off their eight-point lead at the half, ULM quickly grew their lead to 14 at 45-31 with 15:33 remaining in the contest. The Lady Privateers mounted a rally, scoring 7 of 8 points to cut the deficit to seven at 46-39.
With the Warhawks shooting subpar from the field, UNO continued to keep pressure on the visiting squad, staying within eight points of their opposition. As the clock went 1:10 remaining in the contest, the Lady Privateers made their run.
UNO forced ULM turnovers on consecutive possessions to get within four at 58-54 with 36 seconds left. A late free throw by Mbiandja pushed the ULM advantage to three at 61-58, setting up the Lady Privateers for one last attempt at tying the game as a Bennett three-pointer was off the mark.
ULM gained its largest lead of the opening half shortly before the break, holding on to a 31-23 advantage into the half.
The Warhawks took advantage of poor three-point shooting and turnovers by the Lady Privateers in the first half. UNO shot 1 of 9 from beyond the arc while coughing the ball up 10 times, leading to a 13-2 advantage by ULM in the points off turnovers.
UNO led by four points early in the contest and held a two-point lead at 12-10 before the Warhawks scored 6 of 8 points to move ahead 16-12.
The Lady Privateers will head to Murfreesboro, Tenn. on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest against Middle Tennessee.
