TRIO OF DOUBLE DIGIT SCORERS LEADS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PAST ULM
MOBILE, Ala. – Behind three double-digit scores, the University of South Alabama women's basketball team (16-10, 9-6 SBC) triumphed over ULM (4-22, 1-14 SBC), 72-55, to end a five-game losing streak at the Mitchell Center on Thursday.

Sophomore Shaforia Kines led the way with 16 points on a 6-for-9 shooting night as she made half of the Jags' three-point field-goals with three on six attempts. The sophomore brought down seven rebounds, assisted on a game-high six baskets and tied for the game-high in steals with two.

Chyna Ellis collected her 10th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. The senior shot 50 percent from the field, blocked a game-high three shots and recorded a pair of takeaways to finish off her stat line.

Antoinette Lewis rounded out the trio of South Alabama student-athletes in double-figure points with 15 on a 7-for-11 effort from the field. Lewis grabbed nine rebounds, one shy of recording her second double-double of the season, while she rejected two Warhawk shots, collected an assist and a steal.

ULM had two players score 10 or more points in the contest with Carissa Moody scoring 15 and Destini Lunsford finished with 11 shooting an efficient 5-for-8 and 4-for-6 respectively.

Arsula Clark tied Ellis for the game-high in rebounds with 11. The Warhawks' leading scorer Gabriella Cortez managed just five points on a 1-for-11 shooting night, making both of her free-throw attempts. Cortez came into the contest averaging just over 16 points per contest.

GAME FACTS
- ULM scored five of the first seven points in the game.
- USA captured the lead after trailing for the first 5:19 of the opening frame at 6-5.
- After the Warhawks opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run, the Jags answered with a 15-0 run of their own.
- South Alabama outscored ULM 22-15 in the second quarter to take a 36-26 lead into the half.
- ULM started to roll in the third as it shot 8-of-18 from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point range, to jut the Jag lead to two as the teams headed to the fourth.
- USA pulled away in the final frame as it shot 9-of-15 from the field, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, for 23 points while holding the Warhawks to just eight to pull away.
- The Jags only turned the ball over nine times to ULM's 14 giveaways and turned those 14 turnovers into 14 points.
- South Alabama outrebounded the Warhawks 43-33, including 15-9 on the offensive glass.
- USA dominated paint outscoring ULM 46-16.
- The Jags converted 16 second-chance points off their 15 offensive boards.
- South Alabama assisted on over half of its baskets with 16 helpers on 30 made attempts.

NOTES
- Kines and Lewis each recorded double-figure points for the second-time in their last three games.
- Ellis scored 10 or more points for sixth time in her last seven games.
- The Jags are 10-4 at home.
- Tonight marked the third time this season South Alabama turned the ball over less than 10 times, tying the season low with nine.
- Lewis set a career-high with seven made field goals.
- USA is 9-1 when scoring 70 or more points this season.
- Head coach Terry Fowler collected his 262nd win of his career.
- South Alabama is two wins from reaching 600 in program history.

Five Score in Double-Figures in A-State Victory
JONESBORO, Ark. (2/22/18) – Arkansas State tied a season high with five players scoring in double figures, and senior forward Lauren Bradshaw also collected her fifth double-double this year to help lead the Red Wolves to 69-52 Sun Belt Conference victory over Appalachian State Thursday night at First National Bank Arena.

The Red Wolves were coming off a 64-58 setback to Little Rock, but improved to 12-0 this year in games immediately following a loss. In the process, they moved their overall record 14-12 and ran their Sun Belt record to 9-6. Appalachian State now stands 7-20 overall and 5-11 in league action.

Bradshaw finished with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while guards Akasha Westbrook (17), Starr Taylor (11), Morgan Wallace (11) and Jada Ford (10) also scored in double figures. Appalachian State was paced by LaPresha Stanley with 20 points and Tierra Wilson added 11.

Although A-State was outrebounded 43-33, it posted a higher shooting percentage (.424 to .328), recorded six more assists (16 to 10), five more blocks (6 to 1) and four more steals (8 to 4). The Red Wolves also scored 21 points off 22 Appalachian State turnovers, while committing just 11 turnovers themselves.

How It Happened (First Half):

Arkansas State, which never trailed, jumped out to a 10-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest and built their advantage to as much as 13 points in the first period.

The Red Wolves took a 20-9 advantage into the second period and extended it to a game-high 19 (37-18) with 2:35 left before the break. The Mountaineers scored six of the period’s last eight points, but still trailed 39-24 at halftime.

Wallace, playing in just her second outing since returning from an injury that kept her out of eight straight games, scored all of her 11 points in the first half to lead A-State, which held the Mountaineers to no better than a .353 shooting percentage in each of the first two periods.

How It Happened (Second Half):

The Mountaineers were able to cut their deficit back to single digits just over midway through the third period, closing the gap to 47-38 at the 4:31 mark. They still trailed by nine with 2:09 left, but the Red Wolves scored the last four points of the third to go back up by 13, 53-40.

Appalachian State outscored A-State 8-2 over the fourth period’s initial 2:21 to pull within seven, 55-48, but couldn’t get any closer as A-State responded with a 7-0 run to go up 62-48 with 5:53 left in the contest.

Westbrook was the Red Wolves leading scorer in both the third and fourth periods, accounting for 14 of her 17 points in the second half.

Trojans Clinch Share of SBC Regular-Season Title
LITTLE ROCK – With three Trojans in double figures, Little Rock women's basketball clinched a share of the Sun Belt Conference Regular-Season Championship and the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a 53-44 win over Coastal Carolina on Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center.

For the second consecutive game, Keanna Keys led the Trojans (17-9, 14-1 Sun Belt) in scoring with 15 points while earning four rebounds. Ronjanae DeGray made her first start since Dec. 10 against Mississippi State and tallied 14 points, six rebounds and two steals while shooting 6-for-11. Monique Townson ended up with 13 points, five rebounds, two steals and a game-high seven assists. The Trojans were 20-for-45 (44.4%) from the field, 3-for-6 from three and 10-for-16 (62.5%) from the foul line.

Jas Adams and DJ Williams each put up 16 points for the Chanticleers (14-13, 8-8 Sun Belt) and made up 72.7 percent of Coastal Carolina's offense. Adams had a team-high two steals and three rebounds, and Willams had eight rebounds in addition to a team-high three assists and seven turnovers. The Chanticleers ended the night shooting 18-for-46 (39.1%) from the field, 3-for-7 (42.9%) from three and 5-for-6 (83.3%) from the foul line. Coastal committed 24 turnovers for the game, and Little Rock took advantage with 23 points off turnovers.

Although the fourth quarter went in Coastal's favor at 13-12, Little Rock's lead was large enough to hold off the Chanticleer push. Coastal had its best quarter of the night as it shot 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from the field. Adams led the Chanticleers with five points while Keys led the quarter and Trojans with six. Little rock shot 50 percent (5-for-10) for the second consecutive quarter en route to the Trojans' nine-point win.

After Little Rock began the third quarter on a 14-4 run, the Chanticleers ended the Trojans' run with an 8-2 run of their own. Little Rock was 6-for-12 for the quarter while Coastal Carolina was not far behind at 5-for-11 (45.5%). The Trojans tallied their largest lead of the game when they went up by 17 with a layup by Keys. DeGray led Little Rock with six points in the quarter while Coastal's Willams had eight. Townson earned four of her seven assists in the third quarter alone.

After a rough start, the Trojans turned things around in the second quarter as they outscored the Chanticleers 16-9 after shooting a game-high 63.6 percent (7-for-11) from the field and 2-for-2 from three. Little Rock held Coastal Carolina to 22.2 percent (2-for-9) in the period. Townson and Tori Lasker each led the Trojans with five points as they both knocked down a three.

Despite leading for nearly seven and half minutes in the first quarter, Little Rock trailed Coastal Carolina 12-10 at the end of one. Six of Little Rock's 10 points came on free throws while the Trojans shot just 2-for-12 (16.7%) behind Townson's four points. The Chanticleers faired a bit better from the field as they went 6-for-17 (35.3%) with both Williams and Isiuwa Oghabon each putting up four. After Little Rock went on a five-point run to take an 8-2 lead, the Chanticleers went on a 10-0 run to go up 12-8.

Lasker finished the game with eight points and three rebounds, and Terrion Moore ended up with four assists, three rebounds and two points. Kira Shepard tallied Little Rock's lone bench point on a free throw attempt. Kyra Collier made her return after missing the past 16 games due to injury and came up with two steals and a rebound in eight minutes.

With a share of the regular-season championship in hand, Little Rock will look to win it outright in their final home game of the year against Appalachian State on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Holmes Posts 21 Boards, Troy Downs Louisiana
TROY, Alabama – Sky'Lynn Holmes recorded 21 rebounds and Chelsey Gibson posted a double-double as Troy women's basketball knocked off Louisiana, 72-53, in Trojan Arena on Thursday.

Troy (15-11, 10-5 Sun Belt) led from start to finish en route to its eighth win in nine games. The program has now won 10 conference games and 10 home games in each of the last four seasons.

With 21 boards, Holmes was one shy of tying the Trojans' single-game, Division I record set by Caitlyn Ramirez last season against Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Troy out-rebounded Louisiana 66-37 in the game and had 31 offensive rebounds, the third time the team has eclipsed 30 offensive boards this season. Holmes scored five points and had a pair of blocks in the contest.

The Trojans' dominance on the offensive glass led to 23 second chance points, while the defense held the Ragin' Cajuns to 0-for-11 from 3-point range, the first time an opponent has failed to make a shot from distance since 2009.

Gibson was 5 of 8 from the field and turned in 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Five Trojans finished in double figures led by Amber Rivers and Jasmine Sanders with 12 points each. Kayla Robinson and Harriet Winchester scored 11 each.

QUOTABLE
"Every win down the stretch is crucial, we're trying to stay in one of the top four positions (in the Sun Belt standings)," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "But, it's not just about the win, it's the way we won. I thought our team came out and made a statement. Sky'Lynn Holmes was a rebound away from setting a record and that's the kind of game we asked to have. So, when you ask players to do a certain thing and they respond in that way, that's a good sign."

UP NEXT
Troy will celebrate the careers of its two seniors, Dajia Williams and Chelsey Gibson, on Senior Day – a 2 p.m. tip against ULM on Saturday.

Machado, VanDijk Lead Lady Mavs Past Eagles
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Daiane Machado charted her first-career double-double and Rebekah VanDijk packed the scoring punch in the first half, leading the UTA Lady Mavs to a 70-49 rout of Georgia Southern on Thursday afternoon at College Park Center.

UTA (17-10, 11-5 Sun Belt Conference) cruised past Georgia Southern (5-21, 2-13 Sun Belt) in its Annual Maverick Spirit Kid's Day, presented by Ben Hogan Texas Health. It marked UTA's sixth consecutive win, as the Lady Mavs are 6-0 in February and avenged a 73-68 loss at Georgia Southern to end January. The Lady Mavs have won nine of their last 10 games.

The Lady Mavs led throughout the game, earning a 10-point lead in the first half, taking a 12-point lead into halftime and stretching their lead to 20 points in the final quarter.

LEADING THE MAVS
A native of Curitiba, Brazil, Machado notched her first-career double-double in the win, totaling 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. VanDijk, UTA's record holder for career rebounds, finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, sinking her first six shots of the game.

UTA also got 10 points from Aysia Evans and five points from Kelsey Johnson and eight from Crystal Allen. Brooke Alexander had six points and three rebounds.

NEXT
The Lady Mavs will return to action on Saturday, hosting Georgia State on Senior Day at College Park Center in a game broadcast live on ESPN3.com.

FIRST QUARTER
Allen started the scoring in the game with a basket at the rim and VanDijk sandwiched a Eagles basket with two of her own from inside the paint for a 6-2 lead. VanDijk then cleaned up the offensive board and stretched the lead to 8-2 before Allen found VanDijk on the block for an and-one conversion, taking the lead to 11-4. Machado created space with her dribble in the paint, hitting a jumper to give UTA a 13-4 lead. After a Georgia Southern triple, Machado sank a jumper from the top of the key for a 15-7 lead and McGowen's nifty find of VanDijk in transition gave UTA its first double-digit lead at 17-7. After Georgia Southern splashed a triple, VanDijk drilled a pair from the charity stripe for a 19-10 lead. Kelsey Johnson gave UTA a 21-11 lead as the clock went under a minute with a 10-foot jumper. The Eagles sank a contested jumper to cut the UTA lead to 21-13 at the quarter break.

SECOND QUARTER
VanDijk cleaned up a McGowen miss from behind the arc with an offensive rebound and putback to lift UTA to a 23-13 lead to open the second stanza. Aysia Evans then sank her first triple of the game to stretch the lead to 26-13. After the Eagles answered with a triple, McGowen got to the rim in transition for a 28-16 lead. Machado then forced a timeout from Georgia Southern after grabbing an offensive rebound and finishing at the rim for a 14-point lead. After a turnover on the offensive end, Georgia Southern capitalized and sank a triple to cut the lead to 32-21 with 3:26 left in the quarter, forcing a timeout from Coach Krista Gerlich. The Mavs answered the quick 5-0 run from the Eagles with Allen's and-one conversion to take the lead to 35-24 with the Mavs owning a 36-24 lead at the half.

THIRD QUARTER
VanDijk picked right up where she left off in the first half, lifting the Mavs to a quick 41-26 lead out of the break before Georgia Southern sank a triple. Lauren Billie then answered with one from the free-throw line. Allen found VanDijk in the lane for a basket to give the Mavs a 36-31 lead. The Mavs built on to their lead with a layuup from Machado, a free throw from Johnson and a triple from Miranda LeJune for a 55-35 lead at the break as the UTA defense held Georgia Southern without a point for the final 2:30.

FOURTH QUARTER
The teams traded defensive stops to open the final quarter before Georgia Southern splashed a triple. Johnson answered with a basket off an offensive rebound for a 59-40 lead. Evans then answered the Eagles triple with her first of the game for a 22-point lead. Brooke Alexander splashed her second three of the game to give UTA a 65-42 lead. After Evans connected on a layup, UTA took a 23-point lead at 67-44.The Eagles spurted on a 5-0 run to force a Gerlich timeout with 84 seconds left.

Leavitt Breaks Sun Belt Record, Bobcats Cruise 62-40
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women's basketball team (19-8, 12-4 SBC) downed Georgia State (7-19, 3-12 SBC), 62-40, inside Strahan Coliseum on Thursday afternoon in TXST annual Kid's Game. Students from local elementary and middle schools packed the stands, creating a unique home court advantage for the Bobcats. In total, 4,225 fans were on hand to witness the Bobcat victory, breaking the school record for attendance at a Texas State women's basketball game.

The lopsided victory gives Texas State 19 wins this season, the most since winning 21 games during the 2007-08 campaign. That team will be honored at halftime of Saturday's game against Georgia Southern. The Bobcats have won 10 games this season by 20 or more points, the most ever by a TXST team in the NCAA Division I era.

"I was proud of these girls for the adjustment on the defensive end of the floor," head coach Zenarae Antoine said. "The type of defensive intensity we came out with in the third quarter is what will carry this team as we move through the end of February and into March."

Toshua Leavitt broke the Sun Belt Conference record for single-season made 3-point field goals on her last made bucket of the game. Leavitt struggled early in the game to find the range, splashed a pair of triples in the final minutes of the game to move ahead of Middle Tennessee's Kortni Jones for the record. Jones made 115 3-pointers during the 2011-12 season. Leavitt sits at 116 with eyes towards the NCAA record of 129 makes set by Brianna Butler of Syracuse during the 2015-16 campaign.

Much like the previous matchup between these teams in Atlanta, the game was tight for the first 20 minutes. The Bobcats used a massive third quarter run to seize control of the game, scoring the quarter's final 16 points to push the lead to 22 points. Senior forward Ti'Aira Pitts capped off the run with a basket as the buzzer sounded, ending the third frame.

Pitts logged a team-high 34 minutes of playing time, scoring a game-high 18 points. She converted 8-of-9 shot attempts inside the 3-point line on the afternoon. Pitts also chipped in four rebounds, three assists and one block. For the fifth time this season, Ericka May collected a double double, registering 10 points and 11 rebounds. May converted 4-of-6 shots from the floor.

Senior guard Taeler Deer contributed 17 points, six rebounds and five assists to the Bobcat victory. During Sun Belt play, Deer is pouring in over 18 points a night while dishing out 6.8 assists and grabbing 4.3 rebounds. The Houston native is converting 43 percent of her shots from the floor and making nearly 80 percent of her free throws.

The Bobcat defense held the Panthers in check all afternoon, limiting Georgia State to 16-of-63 (25.4 percent) from the floor and 2-13 (15.4 percent) from behind the 3-point line. In the pivotal third quarter, GSU made just two field goal attempts in the frame.

The Bobcats host Georgia Southern on Saturday with a scheduled tip of 2 p.m. To close out the regular season, the Bobcats will take on in-state rival UTA on March 3. The regular season finale will represent Senior Day for Texas State's five seniors. Tip is slated for 2 p.m. from Strahan Coliseum.