Game 10: vs. Little Rock Game Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team will open up Sun Belt Conference action Wednesday night when the Jaguars welcome Little Rock to the Mitchell Center.  Tip-off versus the Trojans is set for 5 p.m.

"As we open up conference play, everyone in the league starts out with a 0-0 record," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said.  "We are coming in with a two-game win streak and we are playing better.  We've steadily shown improvement throughout the season, so it's exciting for us to jump into Sun Belt Conference play and begin with one of the perennial top teams in the league.  Little Rock is a team that has a championship pedigree and understands what it takes to win.  They understand what has to be done to get to that level.

"Our biggest concern coming into the game is Little Rock's smothering defense.  They really get after you and make everything difficult for you.  They are also very physical team, so those will be two areas that we will have to be ready for on Wednesday night."

Live stats and web streaming for the contest can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.  Fans can also keep up with in-match updates by following action on the program's twitter account @SouthALWBB.

South Alabama comes into the conference opener with a 4-5 record and a two-game win streak.  In their last outing back on Dec. 19, the Jaguars picked up a 59-56 road victory over Grand Canyon.  USA, which has struggled for much of the season at the free-throw line, hit 14 of its 17 attempts at the charity stripe, including all six during the final 1:29 of the game to preserve the win.

Marquita Daniels led the club with 18 points off the bench in her second game back from injury.  The 5-7 sophomore continues to pace the Jags offensively with 11.0 points per outing this season.  Daniels has 13 assists and 14 steals in six games of action this season.

Chyna Ellis and Genesis Perrymond also recorded double figures in the win over the Antelopes, each finishing with 10 points.  Ellis also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds in the contest.  She ranks fifth in the Sun Belt in that category with 7.6 rebounds per game.  The preseason third-team all-SBC selection is second in the Sun Belt and 58th in the NCAA in blocks with 2.0 per game.  She has 18 on the season.

Perrymond ranks second on the team in scoring with 8.6 ppg.  The redshirt freshman paces the Jaguars from behind the arc with 14 made three pointers.  She is knocking down 33.3 percent of her long-range attempts.

Fellow freshman Erin Autio has eight treys of her own and a 36.4 percentage from beyond the arc.  She is also connecting on 45.2 percent of her field-goal attempts.  

Senior forward Taylor Jenkins returned to the USA lineup against Grand Canyon after missing the previous six games due to injury.  In her first action since the opening week of play, Jenkins had six points and four rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

The Jaguar bench came up big against GCU, recording a season-best 34 points.  In USA's last two contest, the bench has recorded 66 of the club's 125 points – 52.8 percent of the team's points.

South Alabama currently leads the Sun Belt and ranks 20th in the NCAA in blocks, averaging 5.7 per game.   The Jaguars are also 33rd nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.346) and 40th in scoring defense (55.7).

Little Rock enters the game against the Jaguars with a 2-7 overall record.  LR dropped its fifth-straight game in its last outing back on 69-39 at then-16th-ranked Texas A&M.  Little Rock was held to just 28.1 percent shooting and did not record a free-throw attempt.  TAMU also shot 52.9 percent in the contest.  

The Trojans have been tested throughout the non-conference portion of their schedule as three teams ranked in the top 25 and seven of their opponents advanced to the postseason a year ago.

Alexius Dawn led the Trojans with 19 points on 8-of-21 shooting.  Dawn has recorded 19 points in each of the last two games and scored double figures in the last four.  The senior guard ranks second on the team offensively with 11.6 ppg – 15th in the Sun Belt.  She has 17 made three-pointers this season, to go along with her 23 assists and team-best 15 steals.

The production of Dawn as of late has been important to the Trojans as the club's leading scorer, Shanity James, has been out of action with a minor neck injury.  James is expected to return to the lineup this week.  James leads Little Rock in both points (17.0) and rebounds (7.1).  She ranks fourth in the league in scoring and is tied for seventh on the glass.  Her 52.1 field-goal percentage is also fourth-best in the SBC.  

Junior Sharde` Collins is also averaging double digits with 10.2 ppg.  Collins is shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from behind the arc – ninth in the league.

The Trojans have been one of the most successful Sun Belt teams over the last decade.  Little Rock has reached the national postseason in seven of the last eight seasons, earning four NCAA Tournament berths and making three WNIT trips during that time.

Little Rock also won the West Division Championship for six consecutive seasons when the league still had divisions.  Over the last nine seasons, the Trojans hold a record of 129-33 in the league, and have claimed the outright regular-season championship once and the tournament championship three times.  Little Rock was picked third in the Sun Belt's preseason coaches' poll and received two first-place votes.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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