MONROE, La. – Five players scored in double figures as the UTA women's basketball team defeated ULM, 72-60, on Friday night at Fant Ewing Coliseum.
With the win, UTA improves to 9-4 overall and 7-2 in Sun Belt play, while the Warhawks fall to 2-13 on the season and 0-9 in league action. The win also gives the Lady Mavs their third straight win over ULM this season.
Shyia Smith led the Lady Mavs with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. Smith also added four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
Camryn Hawkins shot 5-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range to finish with 14 points.
Bre Wickware chipped in with 13 points and two boards, while
Terryn Milton registered 12 points and four assists. The Lady Mavs got some extra firepower off the bench on Friday night, as
Barbara Benson made her season debut and finished with 10 points and 4 steals in 14 minutes of action. Benson's four steals tied her career-high.
Katie Ferrell did a little bit of everything, registering four points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
ULM's Kierra Brimzy led all scorers with 22 points, but was forced into a game-high nine turnovers.
UTA knocked down 26-of-52 shots (50 percent) from the field, while the ULM shot 56.8 percent (25-of-44) on the night. The Lady Mavs defensive pressure forced the Warhawks into 23 turnovers. The Lady Mavericks lost the battle of the boards 33-18, but picked up wins in the points off turnovers (27-9), bench scoring (27-4) and fast break points (15-2) battles.
The two squads will be back in action in the series finale tomorrow afternoon. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
GAME NOTE
Claire Chastain and
Misty Dossey did not travel with the team and will miss the next two games because of personal reasons.
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