he ULM women’s basketball team (1-1) defeated Centenary (0-1) 106-26 to earn its first win of the season on Thursday evening. The 80-point gap is ULM’s largest margin of victory in program history. The Warhawks’ suffocating defense earned a program-high 32 steals, which ties for 10th most in a game in NCAA DI history. ULM forced 49 turnovers and scored 71 points off those turnovers in the victory.
Centenary’s 26 points is the fewest points allowed in program history.
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Third-year guard Aiyanna Culver scored a career-high 35 points (12-18), including a personal-best eight three-pointers. Kayla Lindsey hit double digits with 16 points, while Erin Henry had 10. Henry also had a career-high seven steals against the Centenary Ladies.
The Warhawks shot 48% (37-77) from the field, and 38% (17-44) from behind the arc. ULM outrebounded Centenary (44-33), scored 85 bench points, and had 28 team assists.
ULM opened the game with 16 straight points off turnovers, establishing its defense early. Centenary managed just five points in the opening quarter, and only attempted six shots from the field. Culver made an impact off the bench immediately, scoring 15 points in the first quarter, and outscoring the opponent all on her own.
The Warhawks allowed just four points in the second quarter, entering the locker room leading 55-9. Coming out of the break, ten total Warhawks got on the scoreboard, but Centenary put up a game-best 14 points in the third quarter. ULM rebounded in the fourth, allowing only three points, which came from one three-pointer.
The Warhawks remain at home to face Central Arkansas on Monday, November 9 at 6:30 p.m. in b1Bank Fant Coliseum.
Coach Fletcher Quotables:
“Today was all about defense, our intensity and our attention to detail. We wanted to execute. I thought we did the things we were supposed to do, there were some areas we missed with some gaps in our rotations, but our girls played extremely hard.”
“When you win like this, you don’t want to be ungrateful by any means, but the things we did do really well tonight, is what we’ve been able to see from this team against ourselves, so it was good to see against an opponent.”
“Erin Henry did a phenomenal job of finding Aiyanna Culver. Lea Nadolny’s ball pressure and presence were good. When we continue to rotate and just be so aggressive, we do such a great job. We got efficiency from everybody tonight.”
“Great to have fans, our students. What a great crowd tonight, there were a lot of great people. I say this all the time, Monroe is a special place that is filled with special people.”