MOBILE. Ala. - The University of South Alabama used a huge second half explosion Thursday evening to cruise to a 100-44 victory over cross-town rival Spring Hill at the Mitchell Center. In the second period, USA out-scored the Lady Badgers 61-21 en route to the 56-point victory.
The game marked the first time South Alabama has recorded 100 points in a game since doing so against Texas-Pan American back on Jan. 12, 1995 - a 100-60 win.
USA (1-1) will host Western Illinois on Monday. Tip-off versus the Leathernecks is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center. The loss does not count toward the regular season standings for Spring Hill as the game was an exhibition for the Lady Badgers.
The Jaguar women placed five players in double figures in the win, marking the first time a South Alabama team has done so since last season against Mercer on Nov. 24. Brittney Rutledge (19) and Sarda Peterson (17) led the way offensively for South Alabama, each setting new career-highs. Rutledge was 8-of-11 from the floor for USA, including 3-for-4 from three-point range, while Peterson had a career-high five treys of her own.
"I thought Brittany Rutledge really responded well tonight," South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. "In the opener at Southern Miss, she struggled a little bit and I thought she really bounced back quite well. I think in the first half, she was by far our best player. At the half, the game was not sealed by any shape or form. It was a 16-point game, which is clearly a manageable margin for someone to comeback from. In the second half, our team really responded and everybody brought the energy level that Brittney had in the first half. As a result of that, we got a lot of good things done. A lot of people started to make plays for us. We also were able to get a lot of open looks from the perimeter and we were able to make a high percentage of those open looks."
South Alabama's Morriah Smith chipped in with 12 points of her own, while Christina Shelter and Shakira Nettles had 10 points apiece. Of the 12 players to see action for the Jags, 11 were able to get into the scoring column.
Spring Hill was paced offensively by Kimarie Bock's 18 points. Kristin Rogers led all players with a game-high 12 rebounds for the Badgers.
As a team, the Jags were a blistering 36-of-72 from the field for 50 percent shooting - including 20-for-35 in the second half.
Coming out of the locker room holding a 39-23 lead, South Alabama wasted little time breaking the game open as the Jags reeled off a 17-5 run during the first six minutes of the second half to stretch their advantage out to 30. Rutledge's jumper at t he 13:22 mark capped off the run and gave the junior her new career-best. From that point on, USA kept up the pressure and cruised to the victory. Jag freshman Bobbi Taylor highlighted the night when her three-pointer with under a minute to play - one of the Jags 13 on the night - put USA at the century mark..
After a sluggish effort in the first half, USA held the Lady Badgers to just 21.2 percent shooting (7-of-33) in the second half. The Jags also forced 27 turnovers in the game - 13 coming off Jag takeaways. South Alabama was able to capitalize on those opportunities - holding a 35-4 advantage in the points off turnovers category. The Jag bench also so came up huge in the win, out-scoring Spring Hill's 50-13.
The trio of Nettles, Shelter and Rutledge provided the scoring early on - combining to record 16 off the first 19 points for the Jags. USA's Sarda Peterson's three-pointer from the right wing at the 12:25 mark gave the Jags a 19-7 advantage. After a Kiara Parker (SHC) basket with 11 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the period, the Jags rattled off a 9-2 run and took a 28-11 advantage at t he 7:24 mark after another Peterson trey, this one three-feet behind the line. Spring Hill didn't go away though and later trimmed the deficit to nine (30-21) after a Erica Wright three-point play with just over two minutes remaining before halftime. USA quickly recaptured the momentum and closed the period on another 9-2 scoring spurt. Rutledge started the run with another three-pointer and Smith capped things off when the senior's offensive put back dropped through the net as the buzzer sounded.
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).
NOTES: The 100 point game was the first for South Alabama since doing so against Texas Pan-American on Jan. 12, 1995. The 100 points were also a new Mitchell Center record. Brittney Rutledge (19) and Sarda Peterson (17) set new career-highs in points against Spring Hill. The five three-pointers by Peterson were also a career-best. South Alabama had 11 of its 12 players to get into the game get into the scoring column. Five player for the Jags recorded double-figures - the first time since doing so against Mercer on Nov. 24, 2008. The 13 made three-pointers by the Jags were one shy of tying the Mitchell Center record.
-- USA --
