Warhawks win sixth straight, downing LA Tech, 60-52

RUSTON, La. – Something special is brewing with the ULM women’s basketball team.

Nunu Bradford scored 26 points with nine rebounds as the Warhawks beat Louisiana Tech 60-52 Wednesday night at the Thomas Assembly Center.

“The feeling is,” Bradford said, “we’re just getting started.”

ULM ended a five-game losing streak against Louisiana Tech while beating the Techsters for the first time since a 71-50 victory in Ruston on Dec. 11, 2007. ULM trails the all-time series 49-10.

“Any time you can go down I-20, with the history Tech has in their program, and get a win on their floor, you’re going to feel good,” ULM coach Missy Bilderback said. “I told the girls, I don’t care if you win by one or 10. Our goal is to go over there and win the game.”

ULM (6-1) won its sixth straight after opening the year with a five-point loss at Arkansas. Brianna Harris added 14 points and nine boards and Katlyn Manuel contributed 11 for the upstart Warhawks.

“It was a slugfest,” Bilderback said. “At times, neither of us could buy a basket. But at the same time, when we really needed big plays, our kids stepped up and made them.”

ULM shot 34.5 percent from the field (19-of-55), 20 percent on 3-pointers (4-of-20) and 78.3 percent from the free throw line (18-of-23). Tech shot 32.7 percent (17-of-52), 13.3 percent on 3-pointers (2-of-15) and 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the line.

ULM outrebounded the Techsters 41-35, had a 10-2 edge on second-chance points and a 10-6 advantage on fast break points.

Anna Larr Roberson led three Techsters in double figures with 12 points.

Points were hard to come by in a tight first quarter, which saw Louisiana Tech emerge with a slim 9-8 lead. The Warhawks were 3-of-14 shooting while the Techsters shot 3-of-10. The two teams shot a combined 0-for-8 from 3-point range, with ULM going 0-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Bradford’s first basket, a 3-pointer with 8:18 left in the second quarter, tied the score at 11. Another 3-pointer by Harris on the next trip down gave ULM a 14-11 lead.

The Techsters made just 1-of-7 field goal attempts to finish the first half as ULM carried a 25-19 lead into intermission. ULM scored 13 first half points off Tech’s 11 turnovers. Harris and Bradford led the Warhawks with seven points each.

After leading by as many as eight points early in the third quarter, ULM saw Tech come back to tie the score at 34-34 with a 7-0 run.

Bradford ended an 0-for-7 ULM shooting drought with a second-chance layup with 1:28 to go in the third quarter as the Warhawks regained a 36-34 advantage. Another Bradford bucket pushed ULM’s lead to 38-34 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Techsters continued lurking and trailed by four points until a Harris put back gave ULM a 48-42 lead with four minutes to play.

Tech drew as close as three at 51-48 with 1:43 left in the game but Bradford scored nine straight points including 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:28 to close it out.

“That’s Nunu,” Bilderback said. “She’s just a winner. She wants the ball when the game’s on the line. You have to feel good about Nunu. She’s going to make plays. If they’re going to foul late, we feel really confident. She missed a couple early and it didn’t phase us. We knew she’d come through and be able to make them when it mattered.”

Bradford made 10 straight free throws during one stretch, hushing the crowd with a finger to her lips with each make.

“When it matters, I knew I had to step up and hit those shots,” she said.

Tail feathers: The Warhawks return to action on Dec. 5 for an 11 a.m. home game vs. Champion Christian. … Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach Leon Barmore, who’d heard about Bradford’s scoring exploits this season, stopped by press row pregame asking for her jersey number. … Harris returned to the starting lineup after missing the past four games with an ankle injury. … ULM assistant coach Nick Long spent seven years as a Louisiana Tech assistant. … ULM interim football coach Broderick Fobbs was spotted in the crowd.