El Paso, Texas -- Despite a 12-point run and 18 second-half points by Bojana Dimitrov, Youngstown State couldn't overcome a slow start to the second half in a 76-67 loss to the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Friday at the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic.

Dimitrov scored eight of her game-high 27 points during the 12-point run that cut Youngstown State's deficit from 56-39 to 56-51. Brandi Brown added 19 points and 16 rebounds for YSU, which also went 8-for-17 from the free-throw line.

Priscilla Mbiandja went toe-to-toe with Dimitrov with 25 points and 11 rebounds. She hit 10 of her 11 free-throw attempts in the second half as ULM went 18-for-23 for the game.

YSU will now play Weber State at 7:30 p.m. Eastern in the consolation game of the tournament. ULM will face UTEP in the championship game at 10 p.m. Eastern. UTEP defeated Weber State 70-58 in the tournament's opening game.

With the score 36-31 at halftime, ULM went to work on the offensive glass and opened the half on a 20-8 run to go up 56-39. The Warhawks had seven second-chance points in the first four minutes, and they had nine offensive rebounds in the first six minutes of the half.

The Penguins then scored 12 straight to get the score to 56-51 on a Dimitrov 3-pointer with 9:35 on left. Dimitrov started the run with a jumper, and she hit two 3-pointers during the stretch.

ULM had eight field goals in the first eight minutes of the second half, but YSU held them with another make from the floor until Jesse carrier hit a trey with 1:34 remaining.

Despite the dominance on the offensive glass to start the second half, ULM was outrebounded 50-49 overall and 20-19 on the offensive end.

Brown carried the Penguins in the first half with 13 points and 11 rebounds in 13 first-half minutes. She was 6-for-10 from the floor, and six of her rebounds were on the offensive end.

YSU outshot the Warhawks 36.1 percent to 33.3 percent in the first half, but the Penguins were just 2-for-9 from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes. There were a combined 75 field goal attempts in the first half.

YSU's only lead game came at 4-3 on Brown's bucket with 17:05 on the clock. ULM regained the lead on its next possession after an offensive rebound, and the Warhawks led by five on five different occasions over the next 16-and-a-half minutes.

ULM took its largest lead of the half on a Carrier 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining. Dimitrov hit a 3-pointer on YSU's next trip down the floor to get the margin back to three, and the Warhawks got two free throws in the final minute to take a 36-31 lead at the break.