Nina Randle scored 16 points and Danielle Butler added 10 for visiting Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night, leading the Lady Indians to a 62-57 win over a short-handed Troy State squad at Trojan Arena.

Already without starting forward Jennifer McInnis, who left the team over the Christmas Break, Troy State’s woes continued in the first two minutes on Saturday when starting point guard Kerri Fiehrer suffered a severely sprained ankle and was forced to the bench for the remainder of the game. Without Fiehrer, the Lady Trojans (3-6) struggled with ULM’s full-court pressure, committing 26 turnovers, en route to their fourth consecutive loss.

The Lady Trojans looked sharp early despite Fiehrer’s injury, leading 29-27 at the half and 41-34 with 12:45 remaining in the game. An 8-0 run by ULM, during which the Lady Trojans committed four turnovers, pushed the Lady Indians back in front, however. Troy State led on three more occasions but self-destructed with less than four minutes to go, turning the ball over four times while hitting just two of eight field goal attempts.

Aiding in the Lady Trojans’ demise was their performance from the free-throw line, where they hit just 18 of 30.

"Without Kerri in the game, we couldn’t handle their pressure," Hester said. "Our turnovers and inability to hit foul shots hurt us again tonight. Those are areas we have to improve."