MOBILE, Ala. - Behind a combined 32 points from Shakira Nettles and Tashley Gaines, the University of South Alabama women's basketball team opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 58-49 victory over West Division favorite Arkansas-Little Rock Wednesday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.
South Alabama (5-5, 1-0 SBC) led by as many as 18 in the second half, but made the plays it needed to and hit its free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.
"We've had some disappointments in second halves as of late," South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. "At one of the late media timeouts we talked about needing someone to step up and make a play for us. We couldn't continue to come up with empty possessions and expect to stop them every time, not when you have a great offensive player like Chastity Reed. She can make plays all by herself. We just weren't making enough plays to finish. Finally, Siedah Banks stepped up and had a big drive for a finish when they cut it to two. Then we got a stop, and Shakira [Nettles] made a big left-handed drive over the top. "
USA will now close out its four-game home stand on Sunday when the Jags host in-state rival Auburn. Tip-off versus the Tigers is set for 2:05 p.m.
Nettles and Gaines recorded 16 points apiece to lead the way for the Jags in the win. Nettles was 7-of-14 from the floor, while Gaines came off the bench and went 4-of-8 from field and 8-of-9 at the free throw line. The Arkansas native also pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to give the sophomore her first double-double of her career. Gaines has now recorded double figures in four of her last five games.
The Trojans (5-5, 0-1 SBC) were led by all-SBC performer Chastity Reed's season-high 32 points. The junior forward was 14-for-28 from the field and also chipped in with eight rebounds. UALR only had two other players get into the scoring column in the loss as Shanika Butler had 11 and Marian Kursh added six points.
Two key stats for the Jaguars came at the charity stripe and in bench production. South Alabama connected on 21 of its 24 attempts at the stripe, while the bench outscored the Trojans' reserves 25-0. USA also out-rebounded an opponent for the first time since the Tulane game back on Dec. 1 and the 42 rebounds were the most since pulling down 43 against Spring Hill (Nov. 19).
Both teams came out of the gate struggling to find the range offensively in the early going. UALR's Reed provided nearly all the offense for the Trojans early on as the nation's fourth-leading scorer recorded nine of the their first 11 points. Reed's baseline jumper at the 8:25 mark of the first period gave UALR a brief 11-10 advantage. South Alabama didn't let the visiting Trojans hold the momentum long as Nettles' bucket with just over seven minutes remaining in the half ignited an 18-4 run over the remainder of the half. During the Jaguar run, the trio of Nettles, Gaines and Siedah Banks combined to record all but three of USA's points.
Nettles started the scoring for USA with a jumper with just over seven minutes left on the clock and then later after a put back from Gaines, drained the Jags' first three-pointer of the afternoon, this one from the left wing at the 2:48 mark to give South Alabama a 22-13 lead. A little over a minute later, Banks drove the left side of the lane and hit a 10-foot jumper to extend the Jag advantage to 11. With under a minute to go before the half, Nettles grabbed one of USA's 14 offensive rebounds and laid the ball back off the glass to send the Jaguars into the locker room with a 13-point lead at 28-15.
Over the final eight minutes of the half, UALR was just 1-for-6 from the floor and committed seven of its 13 first half turnovers. The Trojans did a better job of handling the ball in the second half, only turning it over just four times.
Coming out of the break, South Alabama looked as if it were going to pull away from the Trojans, extending its lead to 18 (33-15) a little over a minute into the second half on a pair of Cylenthia Kennon free throws. USA kept the lead at around that margin for the next several minutes until Reed decided to put the Trojans on her back and mount a rally.
With South Alabama holding a 43-26 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining, Reed again took over, scoring 13 of UALR's next 19 points over the next eight minutes. Behind the play of Reed and Butler, the Trojans used a 19-4 run during that stretch and pulled to within two (47-45) after a Butler hit one of her two free throw attempts at the 4:44 mark.
On USA's next possession though, Banks again came up big for the Jags as the junior point guard drove in and hit another pull-up jumper. After another Reed bucket, it was Nettles' turn to make a play as she drove the left side of the lane and hit a left-handed layup to give South Alabama a four-point advantage with just over a minute left on the clock. From that point on, UALR was unable to get any closer as USA hit seven of its final eight attempts at the foul line to hold on and pick up the nine-point win.
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: With the win, South Alabama improved its all-time record to 16-10 in Sun Belt openers - including 7-3 under Pietri. USA now holds a 60-5 record in games in which it holds its opponents to 49 points or less under Pietri. With her 16 points, Tashley Gaines has now recorded double figures in four of her last five games. Gaines' 10 rebounds were a career-high and gave the sophomore the first double-double of her career. USA held a 25-0 advantage in points off the bench. Senior post player Shanice Brunner returned to the Jaguar line up for the first time since suffering a knee injury in the first half of the Southern Miss game. The 32-point performance was the second 30-point game of the season for UALR's Chastity Reed.
-- USA --
