ATHENS, Ohio ? The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team remained perfect Tuesday night with a 73-59 road victory over Mid-American Conference member Ohio at the Convocation Center on the OU campus. The 3-0 start for USA is the first since the 1984-85 season when the Jags began the season with 12 straight wins.
“To come into one of the MAC’s preseason favorites and win the way we did is great for our program,” South Alabama women’s head coach Rick Pietri. “This was a complete effort by a number of different players on our team and I could be more proud of our team right now. We’ll enjoy this one tonight and then get our minds on Tulsa for Saturday.”
The Lady Jags will now return home to take on Tulsa on Saturday at 5 p.m. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at the Mitchell Center and will be the first game of a double header with the men’s team. The Bobcats fall to 0-2 with the loss.
True freshman Siedah Banks led all scorers with 15 points off the bench for the Jags, while Jeanette Tucker (12), Ra’Shawna Sippio (11) and Karina Sproal (11) also finished the night in double digits. Banks was an impressive 6-of-8 from the field in the victory. Ohio was led offensively by Lauren Kohn’s 13.
Trailing by two early on in the first period of play, Sippio started a 12-2 run over the next six and a half minutes to take control of the game. Monique Jones put the Jaguar women up by eight at 16-8 when the senior from Ferriday, La., intercepted a Bobcat pass and raced down the length of the court for a lay up at the 11:31 mark. USA held a nine point lead for much of the next five minutes, the last coming on a Banks jumper at the 6:19 mark. Ohio responded to the Banks’ basket with six straight points over the next minute and cut the Jag lead to 27-24 on a Catherine Cain lay up with five minutes left in the opening half. South Alabama answered right back though and quickly pushed the lead back out to nine (35-26) with six unanswered points of their own, before heading into the locker room holding a 37-31 lead.
Both teams came out hot on the offensive end of the floor in the opening half. The hosts Bobcats were 15 of 28 from the field for 53.6 percent, while the Lady Jags were 15-for-34 for 44.1 percent.
Banks led all scorers with nine of her 15 points in the opening frame. The Jag freshman was 4-for-4 from the floor, including a three-pointer in the first half. Tucker, Shakira Nettles and Jones each had seven points for USA. Ohio was paced offensively by Kohn’s eight points.
In the second half, South Alabama kept up the pressure and pushed the lead out to double-digits at 43-31 after a pair of free throws from Nettles. Ohio aided the Jag spurt to begin the second half by missing its first seven attempts from the field. Cain trimmed the Jag advantage to seven (49-42) with another lay up with just under 12 minutes to go in the game, but that was as close as the Bobcats. USA again pushed its lead back out to double-digits at 60-46 after a pair of Sproal three-pointers and Ohio was never able to draw any closer.
