MOBILE, Ala. ? The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team used huge second half run Saturday afternoon to surge past Florida Atlantic and pick up a 71-45 Sun Belt Conference victory at the Mitchell Center.

USA (18-8, 9-6 SBC) will continue Sun Belt Conference play on Wednesday when the Lady Jags travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to take on East Division leader Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m.  The game versus the Owls will be aired on Sunday (Feb. 15) at Noon on CSS.

Florida Atlantic falls to 10-15 overall and 7-8 in the Sun Belt with the loss.

Shakira Nettles was one of three Lady Jags to finish in double figures, recording a team-high 17 points.  Nettles, who posted 13 of her points in the second half, was instrumental in the late run.  Also joining Nettles in double-digits against the Owls were Jessica Starling and Morriah Smith with 13 and 12 points, respectively.  Smith’s 12 points were a new career-high for the junior.

Breana Turner’s 21 points off the bench led the way for Florida Atlantic.  The freshman guard was 9-of-16 from the floor and also pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. 

One key stat of the game came from beyond the three-point line as South Alabama was 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) compared to FAU’s 1-for-13 performance from long range. 

In the second half, Nettles drained a jumper on South Alabama’s first possession to increase its advantage out to 19.  Florida Atlantic though turned up the intensity over the next three minutes and forced USA into five turnovers.  South Alabama had committed just five during the first 20 minutes of play.  FAU took advantage of its opportunities and scored eight unanswered points to pull within 11 (33-22) on a Turner jumper with 16 minutes, 45 seconds left in the half. 

USA was unable to put any real distance between themselves and the Owls over the next seven minutes, until with Florida Atlantic trailing 38-27 with 11 minutes remaining, the Lady Jags broke the game open and pulled away with a 30-7 run.  Jessica Starling’s jumper at the 10:53 mark ignited the scoring spurt.  Following the basket, Starling, Nettles and Tashley Gaines combined to record the Jags’ next 15 points.   During that seven-minute stretch, USA regained its focus and turned the defensive intensity back up forcing the Owls into bad shots and turnovers.  FAU had no answer the rest of the way and went on to pick up the 26-point victory.

After recording a solid performance in the first half, South Alabama was blistering in the final period of play, knocking down 13 of its 23 opportunities for 56.5 percent shooting.

Smith led the way for the Lady Jags early on, recording 10 of USA’s first 12 points to spark a 19-3 run for South Alabama.  With her 10 points, Smith was just one-point shy of tying her career-mark, just eight minutes into the game.  The Chicago, Ill., native got things started right out of the gate as she opened the game with a jumper in the lane just as the shot clock was set to expire. 

The Jaguar defense also came out firing on all cylinders, holding Florida Atlantic to just 1-of-15 shooting over the first 12 and a half minutes of the game.  During that same stretch, USA also forced the Owls into six turnovers.  While Florida Atlantic was cold on the offensive end, South Alabama took advantage and came out blazing, connecting on eight of its first 16 shots.  Nettle’s back-to-back baskets with under 12 minutes to go in the period capped off the Jaguar run and put USA out in front by 16.

Florida Atlantic finally reached double-figures and trimmed the deficit to 25-10 on Jamie Givens’ turnaround jumper on the left block with three minutes, 17 seconds remaining before intermission.

Karina Sproal’s baseline jumper at the 1:29 mark of the half later gave South Alabama its largest advantage to that point at 32-10.  FAU, however, was able to knock down two straight buckets to close the period and closed USA’s lead to 32-14

The 14 points by the Owls were the fewest scored by a Jag opponent this season.  The previous low was 16 by Western Illinois back on Dec. 13.  South Alabama was 14-of-34 from the field in the first stanza for 41.9 percent

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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