Box Score MONROE, La. – The UALR offense had its best half of the season, and the defense did more than enough to give the Trojans their seventh straight victory on Saturday afternoon.
In a game slowed down by 55 combined fouls, the Trojans got a season-best 47 points in the first half and went on to a 79-41 win over ULM at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
UALR (13-2, 6-0 Sun Belt Conference) remains undefeated in league play and is still on top of the standings as the only 6-0 squad. ULM (5-10, 1-5) committed 20 turnovers Saturday's game.
The Trojans and Warhawks combined for 55 fouls, the most in a UALR game since December 9, 2003 against Louisiana Tech. But despite the frequent stoppages, UALR was able to take advantage of its attempts at the free-throw line and sink 27 of its 33 attempts from the charity stripe while ULM made only 18 of its 27. The Trojans' 27 made free throws were their most of the year.
From the field, UALR shot 43.4 percent while the Trojan defense held ULM to just 22.9 percent shooting.
UALR has won all six Sun Belt games this season by at least 20 points, and Saturday's 38-point margin of victory is a season high.
UALR's 47 points in the first half was one better than it tallied in the second half against LSU to open the season on Nov. 14. Taylor Gault had 14 of her team-high 20 points at halftime, and three other Trojans finished double-digit scoring. Shanity James finished the night with 15 points while contributing a team-high six rebounds. Alexius Dawn hit four 3-pointers and ended the game with 14 points, also adding a team-best 5 assists. And Ka'Nesheia Cobbins scored 10 points, adding three assists and five rebounds.
With the win, UALR continued its best-ever start to a season, as this is the first time the team has ever been 13-2 after 15 games. UALR has now won six consecutive games against ULM, and the team has also claimed victory in nine straight regular-season conference games.
The Trojans led this game the entire way, starting with a Gault 3-pointer on the team's first possession. The Warhawks got a basket after that to make it a 3-2 game, but UALR scored the next 8 points while ULM committed three offensive fouls on its next four possessions. By the time the first media timeout occurred, UALR led 11-2 and the Warhawks already had five fouls.
Things didn't get much better for ULM after that, as the team's foul total continued to climb. The Warhawks had eight team fouls and nine turnovers with just eight minutes gone, and the Trojans had stretched their lead to 19-6.
UALR's defense was up to its usual tricks in the first half, keeping the Warhawks off the board for large stretches of time. UALR had a 20-point lead with eight minutes to play in the period, holding a 28-7 advantage as Gault reached 14 points on a wide-open 3-pointer.
The Warhawks picked up their scoring in the next five minutes as UALR began to foul as much as ULM. When the fourth media timeout finally arrived, the teams had combined for 30 fouls and UALR's lead was down to 18 points at 36-18.
But UALR got back into the groove in the final four minutes of the half, scoring 11 points while stretching its lead to 47-20 at the break. UALR shot 48.1 percent from the field in the first half while the Warhawks were a mere 4 of 20.
At halftime, the teams had combined for 32 fouls, and UALR's Clark and Keys had three apiece.
During the game, Kiera Clark played her 2,500th career minute with the Trojans while James eclipsed 2,000 in her career. Cobbins scored her 100th field goal as she went 4 for 4. James moved up to ninth all-time at UALR in attempted free throws while Gault moved up to 10th all-time in career assists and fourth all-time in made 3-pointers. Gault finished the game an impressive 8 of 8 from the line.
In the second half, ULM came out the better side as the Trojans only scored 6 points in the first seven minutes. Though the Warhawks got within 20 points, UALR's lead never dropped below that margin. With 8:35 left in the game and the Trojans ahead by 21, the team closed out the contest on a 20-3 run to deflate the home crowd and clinch its biggest win of the year.
UALR got 17 assists and only 12 turnovers while ULM committed 20 turnovers and had assists on only three baskets. UALR also outrebounded ULM by a 40-29 margin. The Trojans had 10 fast-break points to the Warhawks' 2, and UALR scored 23 points off ULM turnovers.
The Trojans have just one day off before their next game, as they head to Mobile, Ala., to take on the South Alabama Jaguars on Monday. Tipoff between UALR and South Alabama is set for 5:05 p.m. The Trojans beat the Jaguars 71-37 at the Jack Stephens Center on Jan. 5.
