HOT SPRINGS, Ark. ? The fifth-seeded South Alabama women’s basketball team will face a familiar foe on Saturday when the Lady Jags take on in-state rival and fourth-seeded Troy in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Summit Arena.
The two clubs ended the regular season with the Trojans picking up a 66-63 win at home.
“Having just played Troy a week ago, both teams are fresh on each other’s minds,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said. “It was a very competitive one-possession game and I expect this one to be as well. (Troy) has a first team all-league player in Kylie Morrissy, who is playing exceptionally well, and Alyce Shearing, one of their post players, is playing at an all-conference level right now. Their backcourt is also very experienced. They are a good team and I feel we are a good team. I expect it to be a very intense rubber-match and hopefully we can come out on top.”
Live stats and the web cast can be accessed at www.sunbeltsports.org. Fans can purchase the web cast for the entire tournament for $9.95 by signing up at the Sun Belt Conference’s web site.
Reserved seating tournament books are just $128 and can be purchased by calling either the Summit Arena ticket office at (501) 620-5003 or TicketMaster at (501) 321-1919 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Individual session reserved seat tickets may also be purchased for $21, while General Admission tickets (Behind the baskets) will be sold on the day of the game for $11 per session for groups of 10 or more. Kids wearing a basketball jersey will also be allowed to enter both the women’s and men’s quarterfinals for only $1 when accompanied by an adult.
The Lady Jags come into the contest against Troy after surviving a first round scare from 12th-seeded Florida International and picking up a 50-44 victory on Wednesday.
USA (20-10) trailed for much of the game and with the Lady Jags down by five (44-39) at the 9:27 mark tightened their defense. FIU did not score the rest of the way and missed its final 16 shot attempts. USA finally took advantage and outscored the Golden Panthers 11-0 to end the game to capture the six-point victory. Shakira Nettles led South Alabama with 15 points, 13 of which coming in the final period of play.
With the win, South Alabama posted the program’s eighth 20-win season and became the first team to capture back-to-back 20-win seasons in 21 years.
The Lady Jags are led offensively by their all-conference duo of Jessica Starling and Nettles. Starling paces the club in both scoring (15.0 ppg) and three-pointers made with 73. The senior from Tallahassee leads the SBC in three-pointers per game with 2.40, while also ranking among the league leaders in scoring (sixth), free throw shooting (sixth), three-point shooting (12th). Starling comes into the contest shooting 35.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Nettles has had just as solid of a campaign this year. The junior guard’s 13.9 points per outing rank 11th in the Sun Belt. The Mobile native leads the club from long range, knocking down 39.3 percent of her attempts - sixth in the SBC. Nettles also ranks sixth in the league in treys per game. As a team, USA ranks 13th nationally in that category.
In Sun Belt play this season, senior forward Ra’Shawna Sippio has been one of the top post players as she has averaged a near double-double with 11.2 ppg and 9.1 rpg. She is shooting 48.1 percent from the floor in league competition - ninth best among SBC competitors.
Like South Alabama, the Trojans (16-13) received an opening round scare as 13th-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette gave Troy everything it could handle. ULL pulled as close as two in the closing seconds, but Morrissy hit one of her two free throw opportunities with just over a second remaining and Brittnie Davis deflected the inbounds pass as Troy held on for the 68-65 victory.
Shearing led the way for Troy with 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds in the win. Davis added 17, while Morrissy added 13 for the Trojans.
Morrissy, a First Team All-Sun Belt selection, leads the team with 16.9 points per outing - third in the league. She also ranks seventh in the league in free throw shooting (.792), 13th in field goal percentage (.446) and 14th in assists (2.66 apg).
Donette McNair’s 10.7 ppg is second on the club in scoring, while the red-shirt sophomore leads the team on the glass with 7.3 boards per game - ninth best in the conference. Shearing sits just outside of double figures with 8.9 ppg.
Senior point guard Larelle Roper ranks as one of the top floor generals in the SBC, averaging 4.41 assists per game - third in the league. She also has done an excellent job of protecting the ball, as her 1.47 assists/turnover ratio is third best in the league.
Troy holds a 15-11 advantage in the all-time series between the Trojans and the Jags and in the last meeting snapped a three-game skid in the series with a 66-63 win in Troy. Prior to that, USA had taken the last seven meetings in a row and eight of the last 10. Pietri is 7-1 against the Trojans and Saturday’s game will mark the first time the two clubs have faced each other in the SBC Tournament. The two clubs have never faced each other in the Sun Belt Tournament.
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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