WASHINGTON, D.C. ? After suffering its first loss of the season on Friday, the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team bounced back with a 65-61 victory over Liberty Saturday afternoon in the consolation game of the GW Thanksgiving Classic held at the Charles E. Smith Center.
“I didn’t like our energy in the first half,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “I felt our energy was much better in the second half, which caused some turnovers. We were much more wired in on both ends of the floor, which allowed us to put the ball into the basket. At the end of the day, it’s a very good win against a high quality opponent, who has been to 11 of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments.”
USA (5-1) will now return home to host Houston Baptist on Tuesday, Dec. 2. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center. Liberty drops to 1-4 on the year with the loss.
Jessica Starling was one of three players to finish the game in double-figures against the Flames. The senior was 5-of-8 from the field, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Shakira Nettles chipped in with 16 points of her own, while Sarda Peterson recorded a career-high 11 points off the bench for the Jags. The freshman was also 5-of-8 from the floor.
Liberty was paced by Moriah Frazee’s 17 points, 11 of which came after the intermission. Amber Mays (14) and Brittany Campbell (10) also ended the evening in double figures for the Flames.
The key stat of the game came from the charity stripe where USA was near perfect, knocking down 14 of its 16 opportunities. Liberty on the other hand was just 12-of-19 from the stripe. The Flames were also just 1-of-10 from long range.
South Alabama came out cold from the floor during the opening minutes of the game, connecting on just one of its first seven attempts. Liberty was able to take advantage early on and led by as many as four during the first few minutes of play, holding as much as a four point advantage. Nettles kept the Lady Jags in it though, recording nine of South Alabama’s first 11 points, but with less than 13 minutes left in the period, picked up her second foul and had to sit the next several minutes. USA though responded back though and Jessica Starling’s basket at the 11:48 mark gave the Jags their first lead of the game at 13-12.
With eight minutes, 23 seconds left on the clock, Karina Sproal banked in a three-pointer of her own to push the Lady Jags lead out to four (18-14), their largest of the half. Liberty didn’t allow USA to pull away though and knotted the contest back up at 23-23 on Frazee’s turnaround jumper in the lane with just less than five minutes remaining in the half.
After South Alabama had stretched lead back out to four (27-23) on a steal and fast break layup less than a minute later, Mays ignited a run of six unanswered points for the Flames with back-to-back layups, two of her five field goals in the first half. USA though responded and after Starling’s trey from the left corner with less than a minute to play, looked as if it were going to head into the locker room with the lead, but Kaylee Beecher’s jumper in the lane with 13 seconds gave Liberty a 31-30 advantage.
Starling (USA) and Mays (Liberty) led all scorers in the first period of play with 10 points each. Mays was also an impressive 5-for-5 from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play. Nettles also chipped in with eight points in the first stanza for South Alabama.
Liberty was very efficient in the first period, as the Lady Flames knocked down 50 percent of their opportunities from the floor (13-of-26), while the Jags were just 10-of-28 for 35.7 percent shooting. Most of the Flames damage came in the paint, as they outscored the Jags 22-4 in the period.
In the second half, USA seemed to find its rhythm. After a Mays free throw, Nettles provided the big shot for the Jags, igniting an 8-0 spurt with a three-pointer from the right corner. Brittney Rutledge then capped off the run and put South Alabama up 38-32 when the sophomore drained a baseline two minutes into the second half. Liberty wasted no time answering the Lady Jag run and reeled off eight straight points to retake the lead, 40-38, on a Frazee bucket with just over 14 minutes to play.
With Liberty holding a one-point advantage, Peterson and Nettles combined for all seven of USA’s points over the next two-plus minutes. Nettles connected on her fourth trey of the game at the 10:10 mark and Peterson then sank a jumper a few seconds later to give the Jags a 47-43 advantage. Rachel Hammond’s layup with seven minutes, 56 seconds remaining narrowed the deficit to 47-46, but that was as close as the Flames got the rest of the way.
South Alabama kept the control down the stretch and grabbed its largest lead of the game at 60-52 with under a minute to go on a Starling layup. USA, as it was all day, was solid from the free throw line down the stretch, converting five of its six attempts in the final minute of play to hold on to the four-point victory.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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