Tuesday, Dec. 2
Second-Half Run Propels Jags Past Spring Hill
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team used a 25-0 run midway through the second half to pull away from cross-town rival Spring Hill Tuesday evening as the Jags captured a 69-42 victory over the Badgers at the Mitchell Center.
"Anytime you get a win, we're pleased with that," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "For the first 25 minutes of the ballgame, we just didn't have any energy or any spark and that was disappointing. I thought that during the last 15 minutes of the game, we played really good team basketball and it was really a credit to our defense. We started making some baskets that allowed us to pick up and get into our press. We turned (Spring Hill) over and got some energy off some easy baskets as a result of our defense. We were able to finish the game at the end and execute some things in our half-court offense."
The Jaguars (3-2) will now head out on the road for the first time this season when they travel to take on Nicholls State on Saturday. Tip-off versus the Colonels is set for 1 p.m. at Stopher Gym. The game will be the first of four-straight away from Mobile for South Alabama.
During the pivotal five-minute run, South Alabama knocked down nine of its 11 shot attempts and forced six Spring Hill turnovers, three of which coming off of steals.
Simonne Potts led the Jaguars with her second-double of the season, ending the night 17 points and 13 rebounds – both new career best for the junior forward. Potts was 7-for-9 from the field and hit three of her four opportunities at the foul line. Of her 13 rebounds, five came on the offensive glass. She also added a pair of blocks at the defensive end of the floor in her 29 minutes of action.
Also carding double digits for South Alabama in the win was Marquita Daniels and Breanna Hall who finished with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Daniels was 7-of-10 from the floor, while all 10 of Hall's points came during the second-half run.
Freshman post player Chyna Ellis added eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks of her own in the win.
After shooting just 25.8 percent in the first half, South Alabama bounced back and connected on 17 of its 31 attempts in the final period of play for 54.8 percent shooting. USA ended the contest shooting 40.3 percent from the field.
USA also held a huge advantage at the foul line getting to the stripe 25 times and converting 16 of those opportunities. Spring Hill was just 5-of-6 at the charity stripe.
The Badgers also shot just 24.6 percent (16-of-65) from the field and 21.9 percent in the second half.
Elissa VandeWaa led Spring Hill with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Jennifer Clark also chipped in with 10 points – all of which came during the first 20 minutes of action.
The South Alabama defense forced 26 Spring Hill turnovers and converted those into 27 points.
The Badgers did hold a slim 50-44 advantage on the glass, pulling down 21 offensive rebounds.
As would be the case for most of the first half, both clubs struggled on the offensive end of the floor to start the game.
South Alabama took an 11-6 lead at the 12:36 mark on a free throw by Grace Farnsworth, but USA would go cold over the next four-plus minutes and hit just one field goal.
Spring Hill took advantage and tied the contest back up at 13-13 with under 10 minutes remaining as Clark drove the lane for a layup just before the shot clock expired. On the Badgers' next possession, Clark drained a trey from the left wing to tie things up.
Two minutes later, South Alabama would find a brief spark and reel off six points, the last three coming on an and-one play by Potts with six minutes, 32 seconds remaining before the half. Potts led USA during the first 20 minutes of play with nine points.
SHC would narrow the deficit to two with under four to play in the first half, but Juliann Miller and Rachel Cumbo each hit both their free-throw opportunities to extend the Jag lead back out to 23-17 with just under two minutes to go before the intermission.
The Badgers wouldn't go away though and quickly made it a one-possession game again after a bucket by Alishia Drayton and another three-pointer by Clark with 51 seconds showing on the clock, but on the ensuing Jaguar possession, Cumbo drained a trey of her own, this one coming from the left wing. Cumbo's three was the first of the night for South Alabama as it had missed its first five attempts and was just 1-of-7 in the first stanza.
With time winding down, Clark – who led all scorers with 10 first-half points – drew a foul with 1.5 seconds and hit both her attempts at the charity stripe. Following the two bonus shots, South Alabama took a 26-24 lead into the locker room.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half as the Jaguars were 8-of-31 from the field for 25.8 percent, while Spring Hill connected on nine of its 33 attempts for 27.3 percent. USA did force 13 first-half turnovers by the Badgers.
South Alabama and Spring Hill trade baskets for the first nine minutes of the second half with the Badgers pulling within one on five different occasions.
SHC's Amee Smith hit one of her two free throw attempts with 10:53 remaining to cut the deficit to 35-34.
However on ensuing South Alabama possession, Hall ignited the Jaguar offense as the senior knocked down a three-pointer from the right wing. The bucket was the first of the night for Hall – who entered the game tied for the scoring lead in the Sun Belt. The main two scorers for USA during the key run were Hall and Daniels who combined for 15 of the Jaguars' 25 points.
Ellis capped off the scoring four South Alabama and gave the Jags a 60-34 advantage with less than six minutes remaining in the contest.
VandeWaa ended the scoreless streak for Spring Hill with a trey with four minutes, 34 seconds showing on the clock, but South Alabama held control the rest of the way and cruised to the 27-point victory.
Roadrunners Outlast Mavs at CPC
ARLINGTON, Texas - In-state rival UTSA ended UT Arlington's home unbeaten streak on Tuesday night at College Park Center as the Roadrunners ran away with a 63-55 win.
The Lady Mavericks went to 3-2 on the season, while the Roadrunners improved to the same record and picked up their fourth consecutive win over UTA.
"I am disappointed with this loss and it is one that we could have won but we have to respond," UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich said. "Our goal is to get better every day and we have a lot to work on. That is what we will do tomorrow and see if we can correct some of these things."
UTA will get the opportunity for a quick bounce back on Thursday when the Lady Mavs travel to face Kansas State.
Freshman Rebekah Van Dijk earned her fourth consecutive double-double after scoring a team-high 14 points and picking up 12 rebounds. Van Dijk has scored in double digits in all five games thus far. Senior Tahlia Pope and Chaun Williams each added nine points, but would foul out late in the second half.
The Lady Mavs struggled on offense despite being within striking distance of the Road Runners. UTA shot just 40 percent from the field, were 2-of-12 from beyond the arc and had trouble at the free-throw line, knocking down only 11 of 23 attempts.
"The free-throw line is a huge red flag for us," Gerlich said. "We are better shooters than that and we do all kinds of free-throw shooting drills in practice but in game time they have to show up and make shots."
The Lady Mavericks' defense was able to hold the Roadrunners scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the game, however, UTA was unable to capitalize and UTSA raced out to a 19-9 lead with under 10 minutes in the opening half. Ashley Spaletta would score 10 of the Roadrunners' first 19 points.
UTA climbed back into the contest and would take the lead following a turnover forced by Pope and a Williams bucket. Williams helped build the lead to as much as five on a 3-pointer, but the Roadrunners rallied to trail just 31-30 at the break.
The teams exchanged the lead back-and-forth through the early stages of the second before UTSA made a climbed into the lead. The Roadrunners went on a 10-0 run and built a 46-36 advantage.
The Lady Mavs were able to cut the game to as close to seven points, however, foul trouble and free throws would make a comeback tough. UTA would go 5-of-13 at the free-throw line in the second half and were less than 50 percent overall. UTSA outscored the Lady Mavs 33-24 in the second half.
Jacksonville State Runs Past Eagles
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Courtney Strain scored 18 points, and Jacksonville State made nine 3-pointers to post a 78-52 women's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Tuesday night in Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Patrice Butler scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Eagles (2-4) and added a career-high nine rebounds. Briana Jones netted 10 points, and Anna Claire Knight scored eight.
Strain hit three triples for Jacksonville State (5-1), and Candace Morton tallied 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Miranda Cantrell collected 12 points and seven rebounds, while Briana Benson added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
The Eagles struggled from the field, shooting 32 percent for the game and 29 percent in the second half. Georgia Southern cut a 10-point deficit to seven early in the second half, but Morton got free for two triples in transition and Strain added a third in an 11-0 Gamecock run that made the score 48-30.
"I thought we started off very well defensively, especially in the half court, and I thought we got exactly the shots we wanted to get offensively, we just didn't shoot the ball well in the first half," said Georgia Southern coach Chris Vozab. "In the second half, we still weren't finishing the looks that we wanted, and then we tensed up and started pressing a little bit. We let them get loose, and they are a good shooting team. Once that lead gets pushed out to 12 or 14 points, the basket gets a whole lot bigger for them."
The Eagles got the margin down to 14 points several times over the next seven minutes, but that was as close as they would get. After Butler made a layup to cut the margin to 60-46 with 9:36 left, JSU used an 18-2 run to put the game away.
After a pair of Knight free throws in the first half made the score 19-17 in favor of the Gamecocks, Jacksonville State used a 9-4 run to open a 28-21 lead on a Cantrell turnaround jumper. A Jones jumper cut the margin to 32-27 with 2:38 left, but JSU capped the half with five straight points, the last coming on a Strain 3-pointer, and the Gamecocks led 37-27 at halftime.
"We struggled for a segment of the first half with transition defense, and I thought our kids responded and did a much better job for the rest of the half," said Vozab. "In the second half, their transition game got them going and helped them push the lead out."
The Eagles return to action at home Saturday afternoon against Mercer in Hanner Fieldhouse. Fans can bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to Toys for Tots and receive a $5 general admission ticket to the game (limit one ticket per toy).
Tipoff for the game featuring the longtime rivals is set for 4:30 p.m. It's the 62nd meeting between the two programs, which first met in the 1973-74 campaign, and it's the final home contest of the calendar year for the Eagles.