MOBILE, Ala. ? The South Alabama women’s basketball team rallied from a second half deficit Sunday night to pick up a 51-45 exhibition win over West Florida at the Mitchell Center. Despite shooting just 29 percent from the floor, South Alabama was able to rally from the second half deficit.
“I’m glad we were able to finish the game tonight, because we actually trailed it longer than we led it,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “West Florida was well-coached and well-prepared tonight. We did enough down the stretch to finish the game, but this also points out that there are a lot of things we have got to work on. For us to be as successful this year as we want to be, we are going to have to play better than we did this afternoon.”
South Alabama will next open up the 2007-08 regular season schedule on Friday, Nov. 9, when it host cross-town foe Spring Hill at the Mitchell Center. Tip-off for the contest versus the Badgers is set for 7 p.m.
Offensively, the Lady Jags were paced by Jeanette Tucker and Siedah Banks team-high 11 points each in the win. UWF freshman guard Chelsea Patterson led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
The key stat of the night for USA was in the turnover department, where the Jags forced West Florida into 26 miscues, while committing just 12 of their own.
USA struggled offensively in the early moments of the opening half, converting on just one of its first seven attempts from the floor. Tucker helped the Jaguar women regain the lead at 9-8, when she knocked down a jumper at the 12:36 mark. Neither team was able to take more than a two point lead on the other for the remainder of the first frame, as both teams continued to struggle offensively. With time running out in the half, Patterson sent the Argos into the locker room holding a two-point lead (21-19) when the freshman guard drove the left side of the lane and laid the ball off the glass with just under 10 seconds to play.
Patterson was the offensive star for UWF in the first frame, recording 11 of the Lady Argonauts 21.
Both clubs struggled from long range in the first period of play, as the two teams were a combined 1-for-15 from behind the arc. South Alabama did not record a three-pointer.
Coming out of the intermission, West Florida continued to control the play stretching its lead out to as many as seven (26-19) at the 17:57 mark after a pair of Dominique Boykin free throws. USA continued to battle backand finally cut the deficit to 30-29 on a Tucker three-pointer with 13 minutes, 18 seconds left on the clock. Tucker’s trey was the first of the night for South Alabama. UWF answered right back though and reeled off seven of the next nine points over the next two minutes to stretch its lead back out to six at 37-31 on a Patterson lay up and bonus shot at the 11:35 mark. Banks then led the charge back for USA as the Jag frosh nailed back-to-back baskets during a 30 second span. Jessica Starling then capped off a run of seven unanswered points and gave the Jaguar women the lead again (38-37) with a three-pointer of her own from the top of the circle with just over nine minutes left in regulation.
Down the stretch neither team was able to pull away from the other until with South Alabama trailing by one (45-44) after another Patterson jumper, Banks again came up clutch with a driving lay up at the 2:30 mark to put the Jags up for good. Shakira Nettles then drained a trey from the corner with under a minute to play and Tucker sealed the victory with a pair of free throws in the waning seconds to give USA the six point win.
The South Alabama defense came up big in crunch time, holding UWF to just one field goal for the final 8:33 of the game.
