BOX SCORE (PDF)

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Little Rock forward Sali Kourouma scored a team-high 21 points and the fifth-seeded Trojans held off upset-minded and 12th-seeded ULM, 61-56, on Wednesday in the second game of the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at the Pensacola Bay Center. 

Little Rock (16-9) led by as many as 16 points in the game and was up by 10 points (46-36) with 7:35 remaining. ULM (4-25) began whittling away at its deficit and tied the score at 49-all with 2:49 left on a pair of free throws by Amaya Ford. 

The Trojans then scored five in a row to push their edge back out to five, 54-49, with 2:01 left on the clock. Little Rock led the remainder of the game. 

Little Rock advances to the quarterfinal round to face fourth-seeded App State. Tip-off is slated for Friday at 2 p.m. CT at the Pensacola Bay Center and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

Kourouma’s 21 points marked her ninth 20-point performance of the season. She made 7-of-15 shots from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Raziya Potter (19) and Mayra Caicedo (13) also scored in double figures. Dariel Johnson brought down a team-high 10 rebounds. 

Little Rock shot 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the field in the game, while ULM shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49). The Trojans made 17-of-19 from the free-throw line, while the Warhawks connected on 10-of-19. ULM held the edge on the boards, 38-29. 

Kyren Whittington led ULM with a game-high 26 points, while Ford added 15. Kierra Crockett brought down a team-high 10 rebounds.