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PENSACOLA, FLA. – App State, ULM, Southern Miss, and Louisiana all earned victories on Wednesday at the Pensacola Bay Center to punch their tickets to the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship. 
 
The quarterfinals of Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship are slated for Friday with four games beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT at the Pensacola Bay Center. All four games will be broadcast on ESPN+. 
 
Game 3: (9) App State 73, (8) Georgia State 68 [Box Score]
 
App State will advance to Friday's quarterfinal round of the 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship after knocking off No. 8 seeded Georgia State, 73-68, in the second round.
 
Faith Alston led the charge against the Panthers, netting a career-high 36 points, which is the most points a Mountaineer has scored in a postseason win in program history. Alston accounted for four of the Mountaineers' eight treys and pulled down three rebounds and dished out two assists.
 
Taylor Lewis and Rylan Moffitt pulled down seven rebounds apiece, while Alexis Black netted 12 points. App State and Georgia State tied eight times and swapped the lead five times. The Mountaineers recorded 18 second-chance points compared to Georgia State's nine as well as 12 fastbreak points compared to Georgia State's six.

Tensions ran high in the fourth quarter as Georgia State went on a 10-0 run to lead by three midway through the period. The Mountaineers and Panthers tied seven times in the last seven minutes of play, swapping the lead four times. Carver gave the Mountaineers a 67-66 edge with a free throw with 0:43. In the last 16 seconds of the game, Alston was sent to the line three times, sealing the win 73-68 with six total freebies.

Despite an early Georgia State lead, Alston went on a six-point run of her own in the first period to give the Mountaineers an edge in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Lewis combined with Alston for nine of the Mountaineers' 17 points in the period. App State boasted a 12-point lead (27-15), building off a 9-0 scoring run that featured jumpers from Moffitt and Alston, as well as a trey from Black. A late trey from sophomore Chaé Harris brought App State to a 32-21 lead, but Georgia State chipped away at the deficit with a 7-0 run of its own. The Mountaineers led 32-28 at the half. 

Late in the third quarter, Georgia State closed the gap to a mere two points, but free throws and a trey from Alston pushed App State back ahead, 52-45. A pair of freebies from Black with 0:57 left, extended the Mountaineers' lead to 54-48. Alston led the Black and Gold through the fourth quarter, netting 13 of the Mountaineers' 19 points.
 
Game 4: (5) ULM 78, (12) Georgia Southern 57 [Box Score]
 
Jakayla Johnson led the way with 25 points, while Daisha Bradford recorded her first triple-double of the season as ULM won its first Sun Belt Conference Tournament game since 2013 after dominating Georgia Southern, 78-57, at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla. 
 
ULM snapped a seven-game winless streak at the Sun Belt Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals round for the first time since 2013. 
 
Bradford's triple-double featured 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and it was the first time a ULM women's basketball player recorded a triple-double at the Sun Belt Tournament.  
 
Johnson, an All-SBC Third Team selection, shot an impressive 10-for-13 from the field and drained 5-of-6 shot attempts from the 3-point line. 
 
The Sun Belt Sixth Woman of the Year, Katlyn Manuel, pumped in 12 points and tracked down a trio of offensive rebounds. Sania Wells had seven points and six assists, while Lauren Gross chipped in seven points. Sha'Miya Butler provided valuable minutes off the bench after scoring five points and tacking on five boards. 
 
The Warhawks outrebounded Georgia Southern, one of the top rebounding teams in the country, 50-47. ULM held the Eagles scoreless for over eight minutes in the opening quarter and seized a 20-6 lead after one quarter of play. After controlling the opening tip, Johnson knocked down her first shot of the day from the corner to give the Warhawks an early 3-0 lead. Georgia Southern took a 4-3 lead with consecutive baskets. The Warhawks surged ahead and closed out the opening period with an 18-2 scoring run. Johnson buried her second triple of the quarter and put the Warhawks back in front. Bradford found Gross open on the wing for another three. Bradford added a layup that pushed ULM's advantage to 11-4. Miles delivered a pass to Manuel for a layup, and a Wells free throw pushed ULM's lead to 10. Butler piled on four points to increase ULM's lead to 18-6. Another layup by Johnson wrapped up the dominant first quarter for ULM, as the Warhawks held a 20-6 cushion. 
 
ULM's lead increased to 20 points with 5:29 left in the second quarter following an 8-0 run that featured baskets by Kyjai Miles, Bradford, Manuel and two free throws by Wells. Miles stole a pass that turned into a Bradford step back jumper to push ULM's lead to 22. Johnson and Bradford sank back-to-back triples that brought the lead to 29 points with 1:38 left in the half. The Warhawks held a 40-14 advantage at the break. 

Georgia Southern trimmed the lead to 21 out of the locker room. ULM countered the Eagles' momentum after Gross made her second 3-pointer, and Johnson followed with another triple to bring the lead back to 27. Bradford handed out an assist to Johnson on a fast break to pull ULM ahead 54-25 with 5:09 in the third. The Warhawks led by as many as 31 when Bradford skipped an assist to Manuel for a layup at the 3:32 mark. ULM maintained a 26-point lead after three quarters of play. 
 
Bradford earned her triple-double after her 10th assist came from a pass to Johnson for a layup. Georgia Southern would not come closer than 20 points of ULM's lead down the stretch. Olivia Knight, Rhi Ockwell and Chardai Watkins all added points in the closing minutes to wrap a bow on ULM's impressive performance in the conference tournament. 
 
Game 5: (6) Southern Miss 70, (11) Coastal Carolina 53 [Box Score]
 
 Southern Miss placed four in double figures and dished out 20 assists lead for over 33 minutes in a 70-53 win. The Lady Eagles will advance and take on (3) James Madison on Friday, March 8, at 5 p.m.
 
Jacorriah Bracey led all scorers with 20 points on an efficient 8-of-15 night, falling one short of her career high of 21. Domonique Davis chipped in 17, Melyia Grayson added 15 and Asjha Leake finished with 10 to put four in double figures.
 
Bracey also had 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season and dished out three assists to add to her totals. As a team, three Lady Eagles had at least three assists with Davis and Noelani Cornfield leading with way with five each.
 
Southern Miss (18-12, 10-8 Sun Belt) assisted 20 of its 30 made buckets, tying a season-best in assists with 20 total. The Lady Eagles also shot 30-of-61 from the floor for a 49.2 percent overall mark. 
 
Game 6: (7) Louisiana 54, (10) Arkansas State 41 [Box Score]

Defense dominated the day as Louisiana advanced to the Sun Belt Conference quarterfinals with a 54-41 win over Arkansas State on Wednesday at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The Cajuns held the Red Wolves to just 30 percent from the field and allowed fewer than 10 points in each of the first three quarters in the victory.
 
Tamera Johnson led the offense with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting while also pulling down six rebounds. Brandi Williams finished in double figures with 10 points, including a trio from long range. Tamiah Robinson was a force on the boards with 10, matching her career high, to go along with five points and three assists.

The Cajuns defense had it going early, not allowing the Red Wolves to hit their second field goal until the 3:39 mark of the opening quarter. Johnson scored four points as Louisiana built an early eight-point lead. A 7-0 run by Arkansas State brought them back into the ballgame but Louisiana closed the quarter strong. A four-point play by Williams sparked an 8-0 run to close the quarter with the Cajuns ahead 18-9.

It was the Red Wolves who returned the favor on the defensive end in the second quarter, holding Louisiana scoreless for the first six-and-a-half minutes of play to cut the Cajun lead to two. A jumper by Johnson broke the scoreless streak and Robinson followed with a three to break the game open. Ashlyn Jones scored the final three points of the half and Louisiana led 26-16 going into the locker rooms.

A pair of buckets by Johnson to open the second half pushed the lead to 14 before the Red Wolves responded with the next five points. Leading 35-23, the Cajuns once again closed a quarter strong. It was Johnson again providing the spark with a layup, followed by an Alicia Blanton layup, and a buzzer-beater three by Williams for the 42-23 lead with a quarter to go.

Johnson opened the scoring in the final stanza to push the lead to a game-high 21 points, but the Arkansas State offense finally found some life. They answered with a 12-1 run to trim the Louisiana lead to 45-35 with 4:40 to play. Destiny Rice got the Cajuns back on track with a pair of free throws and Williams knocked down a three to end any chance of a comeback by Arkansas State down the stretch.

Louisiana advances to the SBC quarterfinals to take on Troy. Tip-off on Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the Pensacola Bay Center.

2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship
 
Tuesday, March 5
Game 1 – (12) Georgia Southern 72, (13) Texas State 70
Game 2 – (11) Coastal Carolina 79, (14) South Alabama 60
 
Wednesday, March 6
Game 3 – (9) App State 73, (8) Georgia State 68
Game 4 – (5) ULM 78, (12) Georgia Southern 57
Game 5 – (6) Southern Miss 70, (11) Coastal Carolina 53
Game 6 – (7) Louisiana 54, (10) Arkansas State 41
 
Friday, March 8
Game 7 – (1) Marshall vs. (9) App State  – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 8 – (4) Old Dominion vs. (5) ULM – 2:00 p.m. CT
Game 9 – (3) James Madison vs. (6) Southern Miss – 5:00 p.m. CT
Game 10 – (2) Troy vs. (7) Louisiana  – 7:30 p.m. CT
 
Sunday, March 10
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 12 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 2:00 p.m. CT
 
Monday, March 11
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 1:00 p.m. CT