MACOMB, Ill. ? Coming off a big road win, the South Alabama women’s basketball team will look to carry over the momentum Saturday afternoon when the Lady Jags face Western Illinois. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. at Waste Management Court at Western Hall. The game will conclude a three-game road swing for the Jags.
Live stats can be accessed at www.usajaguars.com, while the internet audio and video of the game can be seen over the web at www.wiuathletics.com.
The Lady Jags (7-2) come into the game after picking up its first true road win of the season, defeating Memphis 66-49 at the FedExForum.
Senior forward Ra’Shawna Sippio had an impressive season-debut, posting 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Sippio led the Lady Jags on the glass at the offensive end, pulling down seven of USA’s 20 offensive rebounds. Shakira Nettles also finished in double figures in the win with 14 points of her own.
“The test for our team now will be to put two really good efforts together,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “We had an excellent effort on Thursday against Memphis and to follow that up with another good effort against Western Illinois is going to be the test for us.”
After her first game of the season, Sippio leads the Jaguar women with her 18 points and 12 rebounds. USA has been paced most of the season by the duo of Nettles and Jessica Starling. Nettles entered play this past week ranked fifth in the league in scoring, while Starling was ranked fourth. Through nine games, Nettles ranks second on the club at 15.3 ppg and Starling is right behind her with 14.9 ppg.
South Alabama has done most of its damage at the offensive end of the court from beyond the arc this season. Coming into action on Saturday, USA is averaging 8.7 three-pointers per game. Nettles leads the Jaguar attack as the Mobile native is knocking down 46.2 percent of her attempts from three-point range.
The Jaguar defense has also been an important part to South Alabama’s success this year. USA is forcing it’s opponents into 23.1 turnovers per game, including forcing Memphis into 26 on Thursday.
The Westerwinds enter the game against South Alabama with a 2-7 mark this year. After picking up a season-opening victory over Robert Morris, Western Illinois has dropped seven of its last eight games, including a 66-43 decision at Kansas on Wednesday.
The Jayhawks forced Western Illinois into 24 turnovers and turned those into 30 KU points.
Offensively, WIU is paced by senior guard Amanda Walker’s 12.0 per game. Walker has been extremely effective from beyond the arc this season as she has knocked down 47.1 percent of her attempts. Walker also ranks second on the team in rebounding at 4.2 rpg, and first in both assists and steals.
Entering play this past week, the Westerwinds ranked 21st as a team in three-point shooting. WIU has knocked down 38.1 percent of its attempts so far in 2008.
The meeting between Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon will be the first ever between the two programs. Pietri has never faced the Westerwinds in his collegiate coaching career.
The game between USA and WIU will also mark just the fifth time the Lady Jags have faced a team from the Summit League. South Alabama holds an all-time record of 4-0 against current Summit League members. The Jags are 1-0 against Centenary, Oral Roberts, Southern Utah and UMKC. The last time, USA face a current Summit League member was last season when the Jaguar women captured a 69-56 victory over the Kangaroos in the consolation game of the odwalla Classic in San Francisco, Calif.
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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