MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball faces seventh-seeded Georgia State in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.  The winner advances to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament and will take on second-seeded Texas-Arlington on Thursday at 5:00 p.m.
 
Fans can watch the game on ESPN3 through ESPN.com/WatchESPN, listen at http://995thejag.com/listen or get updates on Twitter (@SouthALWBB) or live stats via USAJaguars.com.
 
The meeting between South Alabama and Georgia State will mark the 12th in the all-time series between the two clubS, and the Panthers have the slight edge in the series with six wins.  The Jaguars won in Atlanta earlier on Jan. 7 this year, 77-47, for their largest margin of victory of the year and have won three-straight against the Eagles.  Georgia State then defeated the Jags 55-45 at the Mitchell Center on Jan. 26^th.
 
The two schools split the season series in the first year (2013-14) they played each other as Sun Belt opponents.  The Jags swept the series last season, and the Panthers swept the series the previous year.  Last year South Alabama won 83-45 in Mobile on Feb. 11th in the most lopsided game between them.  Fourth-year South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler and seventh-year Georgia State head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener have led the two schools in all eight Sun Belt matchups and the two teams have each won four of those games.  The two schools have not met each other in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament until this game.
 
South Alabama closed out the regular season by sending out senior Colby Davis in winning fashion in her last game at the Mitchell Center on Senior Day with a 71-49 victory over Arkansas State.  South Alabama never trailed in the game and blew the game open in the third quarter by outscoring Arkansas State 16-6.  The Jags held the Red Wolves to 2-13 (15.4%) shooting from the field and 1-5 (20.0%) from three in the quarter with four turnovers.  The Jags were red-hot in the fourth quarter, going 9-11 (81.8%) from the field as they outscored the Red Wolves 22-15. The Jags' lead floated from 15-11 points before they ended the game with an 11-0 run at the end of a streak of eight-straight made field goals.
 
The Jags set numerous season-highs on offense:  field goal percentage (52.0% on 26-52), field goal percentage in the second half (61.9% on 13-21), three-pointers made (10) and three-point field goal percentage (58.8%).  They also tied season-highs in assists (20) and also steals (14), set in the previous matchup against the Red Wolves.
 
Four different Jags scored in double-figures: Davis (20 points), Shaforia Kines (14), LaNeetra Guillory (12) and Ellis (10).  Davis had one of her statistically best games in her career.  She set a new career-high in steals (five) and tied career-highs in field goals made (seven), made three-pointers (four) and blocks (one).  Shooting an efficient 70% from the field and 80% from three, she also dished out five assists and had four rebounds.
 
Kines set career-highs in points, made field goals (five) and made three's (four), tied a career-high in steals (two) and also had three rebounds, two steals and an assist.  Guillory tied a season-high in points and made field goals by going 5-7 from the field and 2-2 at the line and in addition pulled down four defensive rebounds.  Ellis also had six rebounds and two steals.
 
Ellis broke yet another record for blocks against the Red Wolves.  With five rejections she reached 87 blocks on the year, surpassing LaSandra Jenkins' single-season blocks record (86 rejections) set in 1983.
 
Ellis became the schools' all-time leader in career blocks after recording a game-high and season-high six rejections four games ago against Coastal Carolina that gave her 212 career rejections, passing Jenkins' (1982-85) 210 blocks.  With one block at Texas-Arlington she moved into third place among all-time career rejections in the Sun Belt Conference.  Now at 225 career rejections she needs just 55 more to become the all-time leader in blocks for the conference.
 
She enters the game averaging 3.1 rejections per game that tops the Sun Belt and ranks seventh in the NCAA.  She has recorded a block in each game played this season and is ninth in the nation and first in the conference in total blocked shots.  Her total number of blocks this season are more than six of the schools in the conference have as a team, and her average rejections per game is greater than seven teams' average.
 
Georgia State (12-17, 8-10) enters the game with a 63-62 win against rival Georgia Southern in its last game to get the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament.  Georgia State was picked to finish ninth in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll after a 10th place finish last season.  The Panthers are 0-2 in Sun Belt tournament games since joining the conference for the 2013-14 season.
 
After dropping the first six conference games of the season, the Panthers won eight times in the last 12 games, including fix of six games after their losing streak to begin conference play.  Georgia State had a better record on the road in league play (5-4) than at home (3-6).
 
Guard Jada Lewis was announced as the 2016-17 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Monday, making it the second-straight year in a row a Georgia State player has garnered the away (sophomore guard Madison Newby, 2015-16).  Lewis was also named to the third-team all-conference on Monday. Lewis ranked 11th in the Sun Belt in scoring during league play.
 
Graduate transfer forward Tiffany Holston was named Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year Monday after averaging nearly a double-double during the regular season.  Holston is averaging 8.7 rebounds per game which is fourth in the Sun Belt. Her 243 total rebounds are third in the Sun Belt.  Junior guard Makeba Ponder sits in second place on Georgia State's career 3-pointers list with 177.  Ponder has made 55 of her 171 attempts (32.2%) this season.
 
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your our ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.
 
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).
 
Join the Hardwood Club, the women's basketball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All gifts to the Hardwood Club go directly to support the South Alabama women's basketball program. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/sports/2013/3/13/Hardwood%20Club.aspx?id=28

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