UCA women’s basketball leans on defense to beat ULM 61-49 on road

MONROE, La. — ULM spent most of Monday night’s second half looking for the bottom of the net.

It didn’t find it often. Central Arkansas women’s basketball held the Warhawks to 26.7% shooting and left town with a 61-49 win.

Laylah Reese led UCA with 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first double-double of her career and one of the best nights she’s had in a Sugar Bears uniform.

Tiani Ellison chipped in 14 efficient points off the bench. The win moved UCA to 2-1.

ULM’s offense dried up after halftime. The Warhawks went 5-for-28 from the field over the last two quarters and scored 22 points in those 20 minutes.

The fourth was even rougher for them. ULM went 1-for-10 from the floor and scored 10 points, with 8 of those coming at the free-throw line. That’s not a great way to mount a comeback.

The Sugar Bears didn’t get fancy. Their 6 field goals in the fourth all came in the paint, and 3 free throws rounded out a 15-10 quarter.

Reese gets things started

Reese scored five of UCA’s first nine points. The Sugar Bears grabbed the lead early and kept it the rest of the night.

ULM got within two a couple of times in the first quarter but couldn’t get back in front.

Another Reese bucket made it an eight-point game with just over two minutes left in the period, and then a quick ULM run cut it to 17-14 by the horn.

Jenna Cook opened the second quarter with a basket to make it a two-possession game again. Linda Amaning then hit her second 3 of the night, and the lead was back to eight.

Freshman Faith McCallop made both free throws with 6:24 left before halftime. UCA was up by double digits for the first time.

ULM finished the half on another run, and the Sugar Bears took a 34-27 lead into the break.

The third quarter was ugly on offense. Both teams scored 12. UCA kept forcing bad looks, and ULM didn’t gain any ground.

By the numbers

The Sugar Bears shot 42.1% from the field and 26.9% from 3. ULM made just 13.6% of its 3-pointers.

UCA also won the boards 42-32. ULM was a little better at the line, making 80% to the Sugar Bears’ 75%.

The turnovers weren’t great. UCA gave it away 15 times, while ULM had 9, and the Warhawks came up with 9 steals to the Sugar Bears’ 4.

UCA is back home Saturday against North Florida. Tipoff with the Ospreys is 1 p.m. at the Farris Center, and it’s the first game of the ASUN-UAC Crossover.

The Sugar Bears’ defense did its job in Monroe. Cutting down on the turnovers is the next thing to fix.