Senior Terren Ward made the game-tying layup, then stole the inbounds pass and banked in a three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left to help Georgia Southern women's basketball overcome an 14-point second-half deficit and defeat ULM, 69-66, on Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles (12-3, 2-1 SBC) claimed their largest comeback win since overcoming a 16-point deficit to Troy in a 96-91 win over the Trojans on February 5, 2021. UL Monroe falls to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in the Sun Belt with the loss.
Georgia Southern opened up the game by outpointing the Warhawks 21-12 in the first quarter, then build a 13-point lead, 26-13, with 7:25 left in the second behind an Eden Johnson three-pointer. But ULM would close out the second quarter on a 21-4 run to take a 34-30 lead into the break.
The Warhawks built that lead to 14, 52-38, on a three-pointer by Daisha Bradford with 2:34 left to go in the third quarter. Georgia Southern would slowly chip away at the lead, getting it to single digits to start the fourth quarter, then getting it to one possession with 1:04 left on a three-pointer by Ward.
A turnover by ULM set the Eagles up on offense and Terren Ward made two free throws with 34 seconds left to make the score 65-64. With 11 seconds left, Bradford made one of two free throws to make it 66-64. The teams then traded turnovers on inbounds passes with 10.3 seconds left and neither team had any time outs left for the final sequence.
After the Eagles inbounds, Ja'nya Love-Hill drove down the lane and dished off to Ward, who made the game-tying layup with 4.5 seconds left. ULM tried a halfcourt-length pass on the inbounds which was stolen by Ward, who turned around and heaved a shot that banked in with 0.9 seconds left. After video review confirmed the time remaining, another full-court length pass by the Warhawks was broken up to secure the win for the Eagles.
Terren Ward scored the final 10 points for the Eagles in the final 1:04 seconds en route to her game-high 20 points. She also notched 10 rebounds for the double-double. Lauren Gross led ULM on the day with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 6-of-9 from three-point range.
Eagle of the Game
As important as the late-game heroics was the effort of senior Shy Booker, who notched her first double-double as an Eagle with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and 12 rebounds. She added a pair of steals and her points and rebounds are both highs since joining Georgia Southern last season.
Stat of the Game
After a Daisha Bradford layup with 2:20 left, the Eagles held ULM to just one missed shot from the field and forced four turnovers to close out the game.
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the emotional win
"We're blessed. We are so blessed. I am so thankful. We didn't play a really good game, you know, a perfect game. Shout out to ULM for that, but we are persevering, and I love it. I love seeing us be challenged, then accept the challenge. Tonight, we came out with the win. Thursday, it didn't fall our way, but like I told Terren about the shot she missed at the end of that game, 'You have to be able to take those shots in the moment to be actually able to hit shots in the moment like this.' I'm really proud of how our defense stepped up tonight. This is what Sun Belt women's basketball is all about. It's about fighting, taking care of home, taking care of every possession. It's figuring out who you are and coming together in those moments."
On the play Shy Booker
"I told Shy before the game I wanted 20 points, but I'll take the double-double and the win! Shy is phenomenal, she's getting better and more comfortable in our system. You gotta love it, she deserves it. She works hard, this is her moment."
Next Up
The Eagles will continue their homestand on Thursday, hosting Appalachian State for a 6 p.m. Sun Belt contest at Hanner Fieldhouse.
