THE BASICS
Teams: ULM (2-7)
Rice (7-2)
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Monroe, La. (Fant-Ewing Coliseum)
Live Stats - Video
MONROE, La. - The ULM women's basketball team returns to Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Sunday afternoon to face Rice University in the Warhawk's final home non-conference game and final home game in the 2016 calendar year.
NOTEABLES
Non-conference: The Warhawks will play their tenth non-conference game with only one non-conference games left until Sun Belt Conference play begins. The final game will be against Houston Baptist on Wednesday night in what will be the first meeting between the Warhawks and Houston Baptist in school history.
Staff: The Warhawks boast a former Rice Owl on the staff in assistant coach Amber Cunningham. During her time as an Owl, Cunningham was a four-year player and three-year starter. After her time at Rice Cunningham played went on to play professionally at Viernheim (Germany), Alexandria (Romania), Forssa
Opponent: Rice boasts a four game winning streak going into Sunday's game. The teams only two losses this season have come on the road.
Conference USA: The Warhawks have played only one other Conference USA team this year - Louisiana Tech. The game against Louisiana Tech ended in a 73-53 loss for the Warhawks.
Individuals leading the league (12-17-16): Stephanie Ratliff sits at the top of the conference rankings for rebounds. The senior has grabbed 87 total rebounds (38-49) for an average of 9.7 rebounds per game. Another Warhawk that is making a splash on the conference level is Gabriella Cortez. Cortez leads the league with her free throw percentage of .964 and has missed only one free throw on the season.
Home Court: The Warhawks only two wins on the season have come inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum over Centenary and LSU Alexandria. After the game against Rice, ULM will embark on a schedule that will see only two of the next eight games at home.
FROM COACH DOW
Rice is a very skilled team, maybe not the biggest team that we have faced or will face, but they can hurt you in so many ways because of the skill sets that they have. They have players that are very versatile and play anywhere from one through four. There are multiple players that can drive and of course several that can shoot three's. They also do a nice job of keeping their turnovers to a minimum. They are going to be a challenge to guard defensively because of their versatility as much as anything else. At this point they are 7-2 and the only teams that they have lost to are to two Power Five schools in LSU and Oklahoma State, which certainly gets your attention.
UP NEXT
The Warhawks will close out their non-conference schedule Wednesday in Houston, Texas, at Houston Baptist.
