TROY, Ala. ? The South Alabama women’s basketball team fought hard Saturday evening but dropped a 66-63 Sun Belt Conference decision to in-state rival Troy at Trojan arena.
USA (19-10, 10-8 SBC) will now await the outcome of Sunday’s games to see what seed it will earn in this year’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Lady Jags will host its first round play-in game on Wednesday evening with the opponent yet to be determined.
With the win, the Trojans earn their sixth win in its last seven games to improve to 15-13 on the season and 10-8 in league play. Troy also puts itself in contention for the third seed in the conference tourney.
Shakira Nettles was one of three Jaguar women to end the night in double figures, finishing with 19 points. Joining Nettles in double digits for USA were Jessica Starling (17) and Ra’Shawna Sippio (16).
Troy was paced by Kylie Morrissy’s 18, while Alyce Shearing recorded 13 and Donette McNair chipped in with 11 off the bench.
“I think the segment of the game that I was most disappointed with tonight was the final four minutes of the first half,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “We had the lead and did not score after the final media time out. In a close game, we were unable to sustain the level of concentration and energy that we needed to finish the game. We had it in pockets tonight, but just couldn’t sustain it. Give credit to Troy, they really wanted this game tonight. We also wanted it, but they just wanted it a little bit more and in a three-point game, that was the difference.”
Trailing entering the second half, South Alabama got off to an excellent start connecting on four of its first five shots and outscoring Troy 10-2 over the first four-plus minutes of the half. Sippio’s layup at the 15:51 mark gave USA its largest lead to that point (42-37). Coming out of the first media time out though, the Trojans stormed right back and retook the lead after a Lucy Lindley trey from the corner and a three-point play by Morrissy.
Tied at 45 at the 13:16 mark, the Trojans held the Jags scoreless over the next four minutes and pushed across five unanswered points. South Alabama didn’t back down though and kept clawing its way back. With Troy leading by four (56-52) with less than six minutes to go, Starling drained a trey from the top of the key to trim the deficit to one and then on Troy’s ensuing possession, Nettles intercepted a Trojan pass and raced down court for a layup to put South Alabama back out on top by one.
However, the Nettles basket would be the last for the next three minutes. Troy took advantage of the drought and Shearing, who had missed her previous four three-point attempts in the game, gave the Trojans the lead for good when the junior knocked down trey from deep behind the arc with just over four minutes left on the clock. Less than a minute later, Larelle Ropper drove the lane and laid the ball off the glass to put Troy back up by five.
Nettles’ turnaround jumper at the 1:19 mark brought USA back to within two (60-58) but that was as close as the Jags got as the Trojans held on for the three-point victory.
Both teams came out on fire from the floor in the opening minutes of the game, combining to hit 11 of their first 14 attempts from the floor. With Troy holding a 16-10 advantage after a Kristen Smith three-pointer from the right wing at the 15:43 mark, South Alabama reeled off eight straight points, six of which coming from the long range shooting of Starling. The senior’s trey with just over 13 minutes to go in the period gave USA a two-point advantage.
The lead was short-lived though for the Lady Jags as on the Trojans next two trips down the court, Shearing worked the post and knocked down back-to-back jumpers in the lane to put Troy back out in front.
Neither squad was able to gain more than a three-point advantage on the other for the remainder of the half and exchanged the lead on 10 occasions the rest of the way.
With four minutes, five seconds left in the period, Starling hit one of her two attempts at the charity stripe to give USA a 32-29 lead. However that was the final points of the half for the Lady Jags. Troy took advantage and outscored South Alabama 6-0 in the final three minutes to take a 35-32 lead into the intermission. With just over two minutes to go, Danielle Raelph found a cutting Sarah McAppion for a layup and then a minute later, McNair knocked down a 14-foot jumper to give the Trojans the three-point advantage.
Troy shot a blistering 14-of-25 from the floor for 56 percent, while South Alabama was 12-for-30 from the field for 40 percent, despite missing its final six attempts of the period. The Lady Jags’ last field goal of the opening stanza came at the 5:37 mark on a Sarda Peterson three-pointer.
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).
-- USA --
