GRAMBLING, La. | Shakyla Hill scored 10 of her team-high 18 points in the first half as the Grambling State University women's basketball team used a big second-half run to defeat Louisiana-Monroe, 61-52, on Monday night at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
Grambling State (1-1) led 24-20 at the half, but used an 8-2 run to begin the second half as the Lady Tigers didn't look back. Louisiana-Monroe (1-1) closed to gap to five points with 4:50 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Grambling State proved to be too much as the Lady Tigers closed out the game on an 11-7 run to pick up their first win.
 
Hill was 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-5 from the foul line to finish with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Deja McKinney came off the bench to pour in 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including sinking a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the second half. She also added two rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in 22 minutes of action. Monisha Neal tallied nine points, a team-high eight boards and five assists.
 
Gabriella Cortez paced the Warhawks with a double-double of 20 points and 14 boards. Cortez shot 7-of-12 from the field and grabbed 10 of her 14 points on the defensive glass. Arsula Clark added eight points and two boards off the bench.
 
Turning Point
Both teams started the game sluggish from the floor as the Warhawks took a 9-7 advantage into the second quarter.
 
Grambling State used a 10-2 run over the first six minutes of the second quarter to take a 17-11 lead after a pair of free throws by McKinney.
 
Louisiana-Monroe closed the gap to 24-20 after Cortez sank a 3-pointer right before the half, but Grambling State came out of the break on fire and scored the first seven points to give the Lady Tigers a 31-20 lead after a Hill layup with 8:11 left in the third.
 
The Warhawks refused to go away quietly as ULM trimmed the margin to 40-37 after a Cortez 3-pointer with 1:12 remining in the quarter, but Jazmin Boyd's 3-pointer with five seconds left sent the Lady Tigers into the final quarter ahead, 43-37.
 
The Lady Tigers extended the advantage to 50-41 after a bucket by Takerra Parson, but again the Warhawks answered as Cortez scored on a putback to trim the deficit to 50-45 with 4:50 remaining.
 
Grambling State proved to be too much down the stretch as Justice Coleman  and Hill scored on back-to-back-buckets and McKinney drained a 3-pointer with 2:39 left to put the game away.
 
Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State shot 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the floor and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the free-throw line.
· Louisiana-Monroe was 20-of-47 (42.6 percent) shooting and 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from the charity stripe.
· The Lady Tigers finished with 31 rebounds, with 20 coming on the defensive end.
· The Warhawks tallied 43 rebounds, with 31 coming on the defensive glass.
· Grambling State scored 28 points in the pain, 20 off turnovers, 10 fast break points and six second-chance points.
· ULM scored 30 points in the pain, nine second-chance points and five points off turnovers.
· There were four lead changes and three ties.
 
News & Notes
· Grambling State won its first home opener since the 2005-16 season when the Lady Tigers defeated LSU-Alexandria (106-50).
· The Lady Tigers won their second consecutive game against Louisiana-Monroe.
· GSU began the 2016-17 season last season 1-1 after a win over Louisiana-Monroe and a loss to Tulane.
 
Up Next
Grambling State will return to action at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16 in Cincinnati, Ohio against Big East member Xavier. The Lady Tigers return home on Sunday, Nov. 19 to face off against Florida State with a 4 p.m. tip-off at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
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