MOBILE, Ala. ? Junior guard Morriah Smith’s three-point play with 3.3 seconds left on the clock clinched a 77-74 come-from-behind Sun Belt Conference victory for the South Alabama women’s basketball team over North Texas Wednesday evening at the Mitchell Center.
Smith finished the night with 10 points, one shy of tying her career-high. Shakira Nettles led the way offensively for South Alabama with 20 points, while Jessica Starling added 15, all coming in the second period of play. The 20-point game was Nettles’ second-straight and fifth of the season.
Amber Jackson led all scorers with a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season.
South Alabama’s Ra’Shawna Sippio saw her streak of six consecutive double-doubles come to an end as the senior post player ended the night with eight points and nine rebounds. She also recorded four blocks and two steals in the win. The Jaguar bench came up huge, recording 19 points, the most since notching that same tally against Middle Tennessee back on Jan. 4.
USA (16-7, 7-5 SBC) will continue Sun Belt Conference play on Sunday when the Lady Jags travel to Bowling Green, Ky., to take on Western Kentucky at 2 p.m. North Texas falls to 7-15 overall and 3-8 in the conference with the loss.
In the second half, Starling ? who was held scoreless during the first 20 minutes of play ? tied the game back up with a layup on USA’s second possession of the half. North Texas quickly retook the momentum with six straight points over the next minute to push its advantage back out to six. UNT grabbed the 46-40 advantage on a Jackson jumper with 18 minutes, 18 seconds remaining. South Alabama kept battling and didn’t let the Mean Green pull away any further over the next few minutes. Still trailing by six at 54-48 with just over 14 minutes to go in regulation after another Jackson basket, Smith drained a trey from the right wing and Nettles pulled the Lady Jags to within one (54-53) with a finger roll in the lane at the 13:01 mark.
The Lady Jags tied things back up at 58-58 with 10 minutes, 19 seconds left on the clock when Smith drove the lane and hit Shaniece Brunner with a bounce pass for a layup. North Texas didn’t let the momentum stay with South Alabama long though as Brittney James and Jackson recorded back-to-back layups for the Mean Green to push their lead back out to four.
As was the case for the entire second half, USA refused to give in and kept fighting. Trailing 69-65 with under four minutes and Nettles on the bench in foul trouble, Starling took over. The Tallahassee, Fla., native hit a turnaround one-hander at the 3:32 mark and then put the Lady Jags back on top (70-69) when she drained a three-pointer from the right with less than three minutes to go. Smith’s two free throws on USA’s next possession increased the lead to three at 72-69, but Mansa El launched a three-pointer from deep behind the arc to tie the contest back up again at 72 with 30 seconds left. In the final minute, the two clubs traded baskets and El’s left-handed layup with six seconds to go knotted things back up at 74. Following the Mean Green basket, Smith got behind the Mean Green defense and a heads up Brunner threw the ball over the top and out in front of the Chicago native who sprinted down the court for a layup of her own. She was fouled on the play with 3.3 seconds and after a 30 second time out, calmly drained the bonus free throw to give South Alabama the 77-74 advantage. The Jags then took a time out to set their defense and James’ shot from just across half court at the buzzer was off the mark, preserving the win.
With USA holding an early 6-4 lead a little over a minute into the game, North Texas struck first, reeling off a 19-2 run over the next six minutes. Brittney James’ jumper at the 18:22 mark got things started and Amber Jackson capped the run off with a layup off a Mean Green miss with 12 minutes, 28 seconds left, two of her 14 points in the period. During that stretch, Jackson posted eight of UNT’s 19 points, while the North Texas defense held USA to 1-of-8 shooting and forced seven of the Jaguars’ 10 first half turnovers.
South Alabama turned up the energy at the defensive end of the court over the next several minutes and responded to the Mean Green scoring spurt with one of its own. Tashley Gaines and Nettles provided the spark for the Jaguar women as the duo combined for 13 of USA’s next 15 points. Gaines ignited the 15-2 run when the freshman intercepted a North Texas pass and raced down the court for a layup. Gaines then capped things off and narrowed the deficit to 23-21 with an offensive put back with under nine minutes to play in the period.
After falling behind by as many as six again on a few occasions South Alabama clawed its way back. Down 37-31 after a Jeanee` Thompson jumper with four minutes, 22 seconds left before the half, the Jags reeled off six unanswered points over the next four minutes. Nettles cut the deficit to 37-33 with a jumper and Karina Sproal drained a trey from the arc to pull USA to within one at the 1:33 mark. With 26 seconds remaining, Nettles and Smith worked a 2-on-1 fast break to perfection. Smith dished off to Nettles who gave a touch pass right back at her for a layup. The Smith basket gave South Alabama its first lead of the night. The lead was short-lived though as UNT quickly retook on Tricia Lee’s three-pointer just before intermission.
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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